With nicknames like “Duterte Harry” and “the Punisher”, the next Philippine president is seen as an unmerciful tough guy who has no qualms about painting the town red with the blood of criminals who don’t follow his rules. 

His statements about drug pushers, rape and the Pope led to unwanted international attention. Perhaps his brutally honest and unapologetic character is precisely what makes him so charismatic to Filipinos who are tired of sweet-talking politicians. 

To say the least, Rodrigo Duterte and his upcoming presidency is controversial. 

Like any other mortal, however, the 71-year-old mayor has soft spots too. He can be funny, sweet, touching, and compassionate. It’s all part of the package. 

Let’s put politics aside and see the future president of the country as a human being for once. 

Here are some of Duterte moments which remind us that the mayor-turned-President is just like us, in spite of what we read on the headlines.

1. The pregnancy scare

“Buntis ka? (Are you pregnant?),” Digong asked her daughter Sara when she called him weeping “like a dying dog”. When she answered with laughter, he blurted out, “Nabuang ka? (Are you going crazy?).” Turns out, Sara was just having difficulties in law school. Her dad’s advice? “The answers are not in your tears. Go back to your books!” Digong gave his daughter tough love. However, in a separate post, she said, “He never missed my school’s Recognition Day because he always wanted to be the one to pin my ribbons and medals.”

2. The dance craze

When he’s not going against criminals, he likes dancing the “Budots Budots.”

3. The funny one

Duterte can keep up with the humor of one of the country’s top comedians, Vice Ganda. In Duterte’s guest appearance in Gandang Gabi Vice (GGV) last year, he casually about talked his family and his faith. When asked about homosexuality, he said that there was a time when he pretended to be gay so as not to scare away girls. 

4. The charm offensive

Duterte can even charm the hearts of his lady opponents. In one of the presidential debates held earlier this year, the DuRiam loveteam was born. Instead of engaging in a heated argument, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and the sweet-talking mayor exchanged pleasantries. Duterte was generous with praises for his opponent. “It’s good that Ma’am Miriam is here because she is one of the two only qualified to run this country,” he said. In a dfferent encounter, he flattered he by saying, “I am facing a woman who could become the President of the Philippines.”

5. Parental guidance

“Tabangi ko, Ma (Help me, Ma,)” were reportedly Duterte’s words when he visited the grave of his parents after partial election results showed that he was leading the presidential race. He wept like a child when he visited them in the early hours of Tue, May 10. At the end of everything, the warrior is a child. His father Vicente was governor of Davao, and his mother Soledad was a school teacher.