Rodrigo Duterte —Photo from Sen. Bong Go FB page Karlo Nograles —Photo from the CSC FB page
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — He kept saying he was already weak and would rather retire—assertions he repeatedly made in his avowed distaste now for politics.
But as expected, former President Rodrigo Duterte finally made true his earlier hint that he would seek to recapture the mayoralty of his hometown Davao City which he had held for a total of 22 years.
Accompanied by his wife Honeylet Avanceña, Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Vice Mayor Jay Melchor Quitain, Duterte was cheered aloud by his supporters when he arrived at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office here at 3:58 p.m. on Monday to file his certificate of candidacy (COC) as Davao City mayor.
READ: Padilla urges ex-president Duterte, one of children to run for senator
But he is seeking to retake control of his hometown under a different political landscape—and may face an opponent with a formidable backing who comes from a family that also claims Davao as its stronghold.
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Just recently, Duterte was practically rendered into a helpless observer as police encamped on the premises of his spiritual adviser for almost a month to force his surrender.
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Duterte had criticized that standoff between police and supporters of Apollo Quiboloy—for all practical purposes his most influential political ally—as the former president now denounced the violations of the fugitive pastor’s human rights and liberties, values trampled upon by his drug war when he was president.
Old ‘kill’ rhetoric
Duterte was back in fighting form, again denouncing those very values, when he filed his candidacy.
His son Baste Duterte, the incumbent, will now run as his vice mayoral candidate, while Quitain, the incumbent vice mayor, filed his COC as councilor of the first district.
The former president’s grandson Omar Duterte, who currently serves as barangay captain of Buhangin, will seek the congressional post of the city’s second district, while Omar’s father, first district Rep. Paolo Duterte, will seek reelection.
When Duterte met reporters on Saturday night, he started mouthing his old “kill” rhetoric, warning drug addicts and criminals he would kill them.
Repeated variations of that statement which, along with the thousands reported killed in the name of the drug war during his presidency, had earned him a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“If I will run as mayor, this early, I’m saying it now, better go to Cebu or Manila, not here in Davao City, because if I become mayor again, you will really die,” Duterte said.
He also dared human rights groups to campaign against him in his own bailiwick. “The human rights [groups] should campaign, ‘Don’t vote for Duterte,’” he said.
Nograles resigns
A greater threat to his candidacy may come from Davao’s own political mainstream.
On Monday, Duterte’s former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles resigned as chair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), a position he first occupied in 2022, the former president’s last year in office.
Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez confirmed that Nograles, a former congressman and son of the late House Speaker Prospero Nograles, had submitted his resignation letter to President Marcos.
In his resignation letter dated Oct. 7, Nograles told the President that his decision to resign was “difficult to make,” saying that his tenure had been “productive, fulfilling, and inspiring.”
He said his experience with the CSC “has moved” him to return to Davao City “where I hope to bring and apply the lessons I have learned in my tenure as the head of the Commission, as well as my two decades in government.”
There was nothing in the letter about his plans after CSC, but Nograles is widely anticipated to reenter Davao’s political scene, where he once served in the post currently occupied by Paolo Duterte.
Another option could be Davao’s mayoral race which would pit Nograles against his former boss if he enters that arena.
As of Monday, the only other candidate for Davao City mayor is Rodolfo “Bishop Rod” Cubos of the Christ The Healer International Missions Movement who filed his COC on Saturday, vowing to bring change to the way Mindanao’s premier urban center is governed.
Speaking to reporters after filing his COC, Cubos acknowledged that his political fight is one akin to David against Goliath as he has to “compete against seasoned politicians.”
Cubos, who supported Duterte’s presidential bid in 2016, said he was fine with the former president leading the city, only that the latter was now way past his prime.
‘Too weak’
Meanwhile Duterte on Monday was alternating between his tough talk and his old line that he was already “too weak “and could no longer make it if he ran again for public office.
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He said he was too weak to campaign for a national position like senator, as his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte had earlier said he could.