--- description: The presumptive President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, showed a softer side on Tuesday morning when he visited his parents' tomb. title: Philippines' Duterte Breaks Down at Parents' Tomb After Winning Election image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb73df71704c313/6988928b0b72e308226e9522/rodrigo-duterte.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte Breaks Down at Parents' Tomb After Winning Election by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2016 2:18 PM CUT  Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao and presidential candidate, reacts as he speaks to members of the media during a news conference after casting his vote during the presidential election in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines on Monday, May 9, 2016. Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao and presidential candidate, reacts as he speaks to members of the media during a news conference after casting his vote during the presidential election in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines on Monday, May 9, 2016.Veejay Villafranca—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesB by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2016 2:18 PM CUT The presumptive President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, showed a softer side on Tuesday morning when he visited his parents’ tomb. After [it became apparent](http://time.com/4322806/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-presidential-election-wins/ "undefined") that he would be the country’s next leader, the 71-year-old mayor of Davao paid respects at his parents’ tomb and cried as he spoke to them, saying in the local Bisaya dialect: “help me Mum, I’m just a nobody,” the Associated Press reports. Video footage of the visit was posted to Facebook and widely circulated. The former lawyer and prosecutor, whom John Oliver has described as the “Trump of the East,” ran a populist campaign[ that included death threats and rape jokes](http://time.com/4322806/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-presidential-election-wins/ "undefined"). According to the [AP](http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/10/world/asia/ap-as-philippines-duterte.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"), his campaign manager says the brash image and obscenity was just a way to attract voters. \[[_AP_](http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/10/world/asia/ap-as-philippines-duterte.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4324350/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-cries/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4324350/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-cries/"},"headline":"Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte Breaks Down at Parents' Tomb After Winning Election","datePublished":"2016-05-10T14:18:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:25:10.586Z","description":"The brash populist shows a softer side","url":"https://time.com/4324350/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-cries/","keywords":["Philippines"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb73df71704c313/6988928b0b72e308226e9522/rodrigo-duterte.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb73df71704c313/6988928b0b72e308226e9522/rodrigo-duterte.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao and presidential candidate, reacts as he speaks to members of the media during a news conference after casting his vote during the presidential election in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines on Monday, May 9, 2016.","caption":"Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao and presidential candidate, reacts as he speaks to members of the media during a news conference after casting his vote during the presidential election in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines on Monday, May 9, 2016.","creditText":"Veejay Villafranca—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesB","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4324350/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-cries/","name":"Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte Breaks Down at Parents' Tomb After Winning Election"}}]}] ```