While in detention, Rody Duterte clinches Davao City mayoralty in landslide
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:44 a.m.) — Detention at the International Criminal Court hasn't dampened Rodrigo Duterte's political clout in Davao City, where the former president appears to be handily defeating rival Karlo Nograles in the mayoralty race, partial election returns show.
The latest partial and unofficial results from the Davao City elections for mayor show the elder Duterte commanding a whopping 472,000-vote lead over Nograles, who had sought to challenge the family's over two-decade grip on Davao City's highest office.
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DUTERTE, RODY | HTL | 536,888 |
| 2 | NOGRALES, KARLO ALEXEI | IND | 64,835 |
| 3 | CUBOS, BISHOP ROD | IND | 6,264 |
| 4 | JULAINE, JONATHAN | WPP | 1,077 |
| 5 | TAN, JOSELITO | IND | 920 |
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DUTERTE, BASTE | HTL | 527,827 |
| 2 | AL-AG, BERNIE | IND | 63,300 |
| 3 | SORIANO-BARCENA, OYIE | IND | 4,119 |
| 4 | ALCEBAR, MARCOS | IND | 1,551 |
The former president — who faces crimes against humanity charges at the ICC for his controversial war on drugs — has reached over 530,000 votes, while Nograles trails behind with 64,000, based on the partial and unofficial results early morning on Tuesday, May 13.
Duterte's kin in position. Duterte's son, Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, also appears headed for victory in the vice mayoral race, with over 527,000 votes. His closest contender for vice mayor — independent candidate Bernie Al-ag — is trailing at around 63,000.
The former president's eldest son Paolo Duterte also appears poised to win the elections for Davao City first district representative. Paolo has reached about 199,000 votes — outpacing his closest challenger, Migs Nograles, who is Karlo's sister. She has tallied about 48,000 votes.
The Nograles siblings both ran as independent candidates.
The closest race for the Duterte family is in Davao's second district, where Omar Duterte, the former president's eldest grandson, is leading with over 157,000 votes against incumbent Councilor Javi Campos, who ran under President Ferdinand Marcos' Partido Federal ng Pilipinas. Campos has so far tallied over 74,000 votes.
The Duterte family has dominated Davao City politics for over three decades. Rodrigo Duterte first became mayor in 1988 and held the position for more than two decades across three separate stints, until he became president in 2016.
His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, served as mayor from 2016 to 2022, while Sebastian is the current mayor.
Persistent power. The Dutertes have overcome challenges to their control of Davao City over the decades. Former ally Benjamin de Guzman unsuccessfully ran against Rodrigo Duterte in 2001, and the late former House Speaker Prospero Nograles — Karlo and Migs' father — had failed to unseat the Dutertes in multiple attempts.
The former president had been predicted the frontrunner in this year's Davao City elections even as he remains under ICC custody.
Duterte's arrest and transfer to the ICC in March did not disqualify him from running for public office.
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Editor's Note: The version of this article as of 4:54 a.m. reflects the latest and corrected partial, unofficial tallies of votes. This was due to an earlier error in the Comelec's data transmission which duplicated the count from thousands of polling precincts.
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