Meet the man behind the Duterte Halloween mask

Industrial engineer and professor John Tan uses a cutter to trim an unfinished Halloween mask depicting President Rodrigio Duterte at the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. PHOTO: REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco.

MANILA (Reuters) — A Filipino art professor is cashing in on the popularity of Rodrigo Duterte by making masks of the Philippines president for Halloween.

John Tan said his Duterte masks were selling quicker than his previous Halloween best sellers, Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and 'Game of Thrones' character Tyrion Lannister.

"Seeing the popularity of the president, it doesn't matter if you're for or against him, he's popular and you cannot not talk about him," Tan, who says he is a supporter of Duterte, told Reuters.

Opinion polls suggest Duterte has remained very popular since he was sworn into office on June 30, but he has drawn criticism from the United Nations and the United States for launching a war on drugs which has killed nearly 2,300 people.

Tan has sold more than 400 of the masks, which feature a stern-looking Duterte, at 700 pesos ($15) each in the first week of online sales. He said he expects to make 800 masks before Halloween on Oct. 31.

Tan, an industrial engineer who teaches art at the University of the Philippines in Manila, uses a mould pressing machine to create the masks and spends an hour painting each one by hand.

He has produced masks for the past five years and in 2011 sold 1,500 masks of the multiple boxing world champion Pacquiao, who is also a Duterte supporter.

Reporting by Peter Blaza. Editing by Sophia Soo