Duterte enjoys high approval ratings despite abuse claims

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys 83 percent approval ratings despite mounting concerns of human rights abuses.

Rights groups have raised concerns over Duterte's war on drugs that has killed 8,000 in the war on drugs, while there have also been allegations that he ordered the assassination of former political opponents.

But many residents of Manila say they feel safer and attribute that to the president.

"With this drug thing, we love what our president is doing, because they are criminals and they are going to destroy our children, our grandchildren and the future generation," said a Duterte supporter, Anne-Marie.

Policy analysts say public approval for the president is a reflection of the failings of the Filipino justice system.

"The whole judicial system has failed to deliver on the basic promise of law and order so now you have people desperately hanging on to an alternative," said Richard Heydarian,a political scientist at De La Salle University in Manila.