Vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte
DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is officially seeking a return to the city’s highest post, currently held by his daughter Sara.
At 2:45 p.m. Friday, Hugpong sa Katawhan secretary general Melchor Quitain filed Duterte’s certificate of candidacy for the mayoral race, while lawyer Charmalou Aldevera filed the COC of Duterte’s son Paolo for the vice mayoral race.
The two Dutertes were not at the local Comelec office for the filing but hundreds of their supporters showed up at nearby Magsaysay Park.
Paolo is barangay (village) chairman of Catalunan Grande and his candidacy remained unopposed as of late Friday afternoon.
While three other candidates are seeking the mayorship of the city, Duterte is widely expected to win. His opponents—Rodrigo Sulaiman, Rolly Solis and Magdaleno Marcellones—are hardly known.
Hugpong, Duterte’s local party has fielded former vice mayor Luis Bonguyan for the congressional race in the first district against incumbent Rep.Karlo Alexei Nograles.
Mayor Sara Duterte, a first termer, said she would return to her law practice when her term ends in July.
Before she ran for mayor in 2010, Sara was working with the Supreme Court and had repeatedly said politics was not her field. But she yielded to the prodding of her father, who was then on his third successive and then unextendable term, to run against former Rep. Prospero Nograles.
Under Philippine law, Duterte may now run for mayor again and seek re-election at least two more times.