Duterte tightens grip on power after polls

Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte stormed to a landslide victory in midterm polls, final results showed yesterday, dissolving a last check on his controversial rule. Loyalists won both houses of the legislature, shutting out all opposition candidates in the Senate, which had served as a buffer against Duterte’s most contentious plans. The results open a path for Duterte to make good on his call to bring back the death penalty and advance his project to re-write the constitution.