Politics is Forevermore: Top Nation stories for 2015 #2

Photo by Gigie Cruz for ABS-CBNnews.com2. From LP to Duterte From politicians to ordinary Filipinos, many had called on Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for president since early this year, with a group of businessmen even pledging P1 billion to fund his campaign. So when the tough-talking mayor eventually decided to seek the country's top post last month, it came as no surprise to him when some members of the Liberal Party (LP) in the south, including former Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy and congressional candidate Antonio "Tonyboy" Floirendo Jr., reportedly switched allegiance to support his candidacy Duterte, who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), replacing Martin Diño, emerged on top of the latest presidential preference surveys conducted by Pulse Asia in Metro Manila and the Social Weather Stations (SWS) nationwide. Duterte, however, recently came under fire for an expletive-laden speech that included cursing Pope Francis. The mayor later apologized for his behavior and promised to donate P1,000 to Caritas Davao for every cuss word he says. Photo by: ABS-CBN NEWS