I've met leftists from the Philippines who have had to flee the country after he took power, he's definitely not on the side of actual leftism
Should be noted that he used to work with the Communist guerillas as a mayor and claimed he could negotiate with them and they rebuked him for social fascism and war crimes. And the commies are way better on lgbt stuff. Food for thought.
Yeeeeaaaaah Duterte ain't the 3rd world leader to stan, chief.
Here's his playbook, you be the judge.
He's considered a leftist/socialist on the political spectrum.
His party is PDP-Laban, which can't be considered right-wing in any sense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP%E2%80%93Laban
But that doesn't justify the evil brutal response to drugs.
Every person from the Philippines I’ve spoken with loves him. The Chinese are clearly trying to build an alliance with him and the Philippines. Maoists despise him. That’s pretty much all I know.
Probably just the synthesis of the Phillipines' very specific origin, but I still wouldn't call Duerte a leftist. Maybe a social Democrat with a tinge of reactionary conservatism. Probably a Trump figure before Trump totally prostrated himself before the altar of evangelical, right-wing politics