By Ayee Macaraig, AFP Business tycoons, turncoat politicians, celebrities, and rebel leaders are descending on the long-neglected far south of the Philippines, hoping to gain favor with the nation’s new powerbroker. The remote and dusty city of Davao has suddenly become the country’s new seat of power after hometown hero Rodrigo Duterte won last week’s presidential election in a landslide. Photo courtesy of Ted Aljibe/AFP The mayor has refused to travel to the nation’s capital 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away, forcing VIPs to head to Davao for the time-honoured Filipino political ritual of jumping on the bandwagon of the new president. Movie star-turned-politician ER Ejercito was among the suitors, shifting effortlessly from his campaign support for Jejomar Binay — an early frontrunner in pre-election presidential surveys who finished a distant fourth. “My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins,” said Ejercito, a former governor of Laguna province near Manila. [...]
