DAVAO CITY - US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is "better" for the Philippines than her Republican rival, Donald Trump since she will provide policy continuity, one of President Rodrigo Duterte's economic managers said Tuesday.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia echoed local businessmen's fears that Trump's protectionist policies could hurt remittances from overseas Filipinos and US firms' outsourcing operations in the Philippines.

"I think Clinton is better. More continuity from Obama, because Obama has been campaigning with her," Pernia told reporters here.

"The US, under Trump" will be a protectionist, inward-looking American economy and it will impact in trade and investments," he said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index was up 0.52 percent to 7,234.58 points on Tuesday, joining a global rally after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Clinton could not be held criminally liable for using a private email server when she was secretary of state.

The US, the Philippines' only treaty ally, will elect a new leader on Tuesday as President Rodrigo Duterte reevaluates the alliance.

Reeling from criticism of his bloody war on drugs, Duterte called out the US for alleged wartime abuses and told US President Barack Obama to "go to hell."