Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte secured a decisive victory in the recent Davao city mayoral election on Monday, even while being detained in a Dutch cell as he awaits trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.
This remarkable win comes after he held the mayor’s position multiple times from 1988 until his presidency began in 2016. Some early reports indicate that he received about eight times more votes than his nearest competitor.
Duterte, despite his incarceration in The Hague, may have a plan in place: his youngest son, Sebastian, could take over as the mayor while Rodrigo Duterte retains his title. Meanwhile, Duterte’s eldest son, Paolo, was re-elected to the House of Representatives, along with two of his grandchildren winning local seats.
Additionally, five candidates aligned with the Duterte family are projected to win Senate seats, demonstrating a stronger performance than anticipated against other dominant political families in the Philippines, particularly the Marcos family.
In contrast, six candidates from the Marcos clan are also vying for Senate positions, but they are expected to perform weaker than the current president’s political team had hoped. The results of this Senate race will be clearer next week.
Duterte and the Marcoses have previously collaborated for political gain. In 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency with Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Sarah, serving as vice president. However, she faced controversy in late 2024 after publicly making threats against President Marcos, leading to her resignation from the House of Representatives due to unresolved allegations of corruption.
Monday’s electoral outcome is seen as beneficial for Sarah Duterte as she approaches a trial in July. If convicted, she would be barred from running again, and securing nine out of 24 Senate votes is crucial for her defense.
If she avoids conviction, the path to the presidency in 2028 could be hers. This recent election reflects her family’s enduring popularity while hinting at a possible decline in Marcos family influence. Some in the political arena speculate on the implications of Rodrigo Duterte’s imprisonment in The Hague.
He has been charged with numerous extrajudicial killings during his “drug war” from 2016 to 2022.
It remains uncertain if Duterte can assume the office he won, given his detention. Sarah Duterte is coordinating arrangements for her father to take his oath from the Netherlands, although Sebastian Duterte has mentioned he might manage the mayoral duties in his absence.
In the backdrop of this political drama reminiscent of a “Game of Thrones” saga, another notable figure, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, the cousin of former President Aquino III, emerged victorious in the election. He previously held office from 2010 until Duterte’s presidency began.
Aquino expressed his surprise at the election results, recounting a moment just before the announcement when he was still in bed. “When I checked my phone, I noticed there were 250 congratulatory messages and 80 other notifications. At that point, I thought, maybe I really won. But honestly, the outcome surprised us all.”
