Rody asks Davao folk: ‘Don’t abandon Dutertes’

Former President Rodrigo Duterte —Bing Gonzales

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — In his Christmas Day message, former President Rodrigo Duterte asked a big gathering of supporters in Davao City not to “abandon” his family, reminding them that “we have not done you any wrong.”

“My dear people of Davao City, l am very thankful to all of you. It is here where l started my political career. Your support extended even to my children, Sebastian, Inday (Sara), and Pulong (Paolo),” Duterte, speaking in Bisaya, told the crowds who came from various parts of the city and nearby areas to receive gifts at the family’s ancestral home in Taal, Bangkal village.

The patriarch of the political family who had governed the city practically for four decades spoke for about 11 minutes in the presence of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who for the past several weeks had gone through what was arguably the roughest episode of her public life.

READ: Not just ex-President Duterte: House panel flags VP Sara, too

She now faces three impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives, all filed at the heels of a lengthy congressional inquiry into her use of confidential funds.

READ: House tags Duterte, et al. for ‘crimes against humanity’

All in the family

Also still fresh in the public memory is her Nov. 23 online press conference, where she spewed curses and threatened the life of President Marcos, his wife, Liza, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

In his speech on Wednesday, the elder Duterte recalled how he, and later three of his children, transformed Davao into a progressive city.

“In my years as mayor, vice mayor, congressman, and then President, l have never forgotten your interests. (As President), the grandest that l have given you could be the (Davao City) coastal (bypass) road. Don’t abandon the Dutertes because the Dutertes had never forsaken you,” he said.

Sara had also served as Davao City mayor. The youngest Duterte scion, Sebastian, currently holds the position.

The city government has been led by a Duterte since 1988, except from 1998 to 2001 when the mayor was Benjamin de Guzman.

Duterte also asked his audience “not to forget that I am running (for mayor) together with Baste,” referring to Sebastian.

He explained that he picked Sebastian as his running mate so that if he’s elected mayor but dies while in office, “a Duterte will still be mayor.”

Before he filed his candidacy for mayor in the 2025 elections, Duterte doused talk that he would go back into local politics, telling journalists that he was already too old for it.

Also at Wednesday’s gathering, the ex-president referred to his grandsons Omar and Rigo—sons of 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte—as “future mayors” of Davao City.

Prediction cheered

Omar is currently village chief of Barangay Buhangin Proper, and is running for congressman of the city’s second district. Rigo seeks a seat on the city council for the first district.

Duterte made light of the controversies hounding Sara, saying she’s “being mauled” at the House and dismissing its recent inquiries as political persecution.

But with the continued support of Davao City voters, he said, “the next time she faces you, she could be the second Duterte to become president.”

The audience erupted into cheers at this prediction.

Based on the estimates by the Davao City police, about 50,000 people trooped to Taal to receive grocery packs, gift certificates, and cash in what had become a traditional Christmas activity held by the Dutertes.