Former Philippine President Duterte Wins Mayoral Election While in Prison

Served as Mayor of Davao for 22 Years Before Becoming President
Son, the Vice Mayor, Expected to Serve as Acting Mayor

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines who is currently detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) facility on charges of mass murder, was elected mayor of Davao City in the Philippine midterm elections held on May 12 (local time). On this day, international media outlets including AP reported that, according to unofficial tallies by election monitoring organizations, former President Duterte won more than 500,000 votes in the Davao mayoral race, securing about eight times as many votes as the runner-up, thus achieving a so-called "victory from prison." Sebastian, his son, who is the current mayor of Davao and ran for vice mayor this time, is expected to serve as acting mayor in place of his father, who remains incarcerated.

Former President Duterte was previously arrested in March on charges related to causing the deaths of thousands under his "War on Drugs" campaign and was transferred to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands. Davao City, located in the southeastern part of Mindanao Island in the Philippines, is the second largest city in the country and the political hometown of former President Duterte. Photo by AFP and Yonhap News

Previously, in March, former President Duterte was arrested on charges of causing the deaths of thousands under his "War on Drugs" campaign and was transferred to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands. Davao City, located in the southeastern part of Mindanao Island in the Philippines, is the country's second largest city and the political hometown of former President Duterte. Before his presidency, Duterte served as mayor of Davao City for 22 years. Analysts say the results of this election demonstrate that support for former President Duterte remains strong and that his supporters view his imprisonment as political persecution by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

With the election victories of the Duterte family in Davao City, their political influence has been reaffirmed, and the political landscape in the Philippines is expected to shift significantly. As of May 13, with 80% of the votes counted one day after the polls, the results continued to be favorable for the Duterte family. The Duterte camp is projected to secure at least five seats, exceeding initial expectations.

As the Duterte camp performs well in the Senate, the possibility of the political revival of Vice President Sara Duterte, who was impeached last February and is facing a final judgment, has also increased. Vice President Duterte was impeached by the House last February over allegations of budget misuse and remarks that she instructed her security guards to assassinate President Marcos and his wife. Photo by AFP and Yonhap News

As the Duterte camp performs well in the Senate, the possibility of a political comeback for Vice President Sara Duterte, who was impeached last February and is awaiting a final judgment, has also increased.

Vice President Duterte was impeached by the House last February over allegations of budget misuse and remarks that she instructed her security guards to assassinate President Marcos and his wife. However, if the Duterte camp secures more than nine seats out of the total 24 in the Senate?combining the 12 newly elected seats with the existing 12?they would be able to block her removal in the Senate, which has the authority to decide on impeachment. Nevertheless, given the lack of clear ideological divisions between political parties in the Philippines and the frequent shifting of alliances, some observers note that the outcome of Vice President Duterte's impeachment decision, expected in July, remains uncertain.