Presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, top left, is greeted by supporters as his campaign motorcade makes its way through the streets of Malabon Wednesday, April 27, 2016 north of Manila, Philippines. The tough-talking Duterte, the mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, is the front-running candidate leading to the May 9 presidential elections.

Presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, top left, is greeted by supporters as his campaign motorcade makes its way through the streets of Malabon Wednesday, April 27, 2016 north of Manila, Philippines. The tough-talking Duterte, the mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, is the front-running candidate leading to the May 9 presidential elections. AP Photo - Bullit Marquez

RODRIGO Duterte is promising his presidency of the Philippines will be a bloody one if he is elected on May 9.

The 71-year-old, who has pledged to end crime by killing tens of thousands of criminals, told a Manila business club he would pardon soldiers or police if they were charged with rights abuses - and himself.

"Pardon given to Rodrigo Duterte for the crime of multiple murder, signed Rodrigo Duterte," he quipped, AFP reported.

Mr Duterte has claimed to have run vigilante death squads during his 22 years as mayor of Davao.