Detained ex-president Duterte wins mayoral race in his home city

MANILA (AP):

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, official results showed Tuesday, despite his detention by the International Criminal Court.

The Davao election board proclaimed Duterte won the race for Davao mayor, with the official tally showing that he garnered over 660,000 votes, or eight times as many as his closest rival. Elated supporters chanted “Duterte, Duterte” when the result was announced.

His youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao, was declared Davao vice mayor. His eldest son, Paolo, was re-elected as a member of the House of Representatives, and two grandsons won in local races, an indication of the family’s continued influence.

“Duterte landslide in Davao!” his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook

Partial unofficial results showed at least five candidates backed by the Duterte family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday’s midterm elections. Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious.

The results come as a boost for Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over a raft of charges including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and the House speaker.

Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her job and will be disqualified from holding public office forever. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote in her favour.

Results of the Senate race will be known in a week. Apart from the five Duterte-backed candidates, the others leading in the top 12 included five others endorsed by Marcos and two opposition candidates.