Comelec Speaks on Case of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte as Winner of Davao Mayoralty Race
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the former President’s fate as mayor of Davao City depends on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Despite his arrest and the transfer of his custody to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, former Pres. Duterte remained a candidate for mayor in Davao City. His running-mate was his youngest son, now-former Davao Mayor Baste Duterte.
The unexpected turn of events involving the former Chief Executive was not able to stop the victories of the Dutertes in Davao — many people even belief that the arrest has positively affected their electoral races as well as those of the people they support.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte won mayor of Davao despite his ICC detention. It was a landslide win for the former Chief Executive who has served the city as its mayor decades ago. However, it remains a challenge on his camp on how he can take his oath as mayor.
Duterte’s son and running mate, Baste Duterte, also won the vice mayoralty race. He was the last among the Duterte siblings to fly to The Hague to visit his father inside the ICC detention facility as he was busy in the campaign. He flew to the Netherlands after the 2025 Midterm Elections.
Recently, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced that Davao Vice Mayor Baste Duterte will be the acting mayor in the city while his father, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, has yet to take his oath and still cannot perform his duties.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte previously expressed uncertainty as to whether or not her father can take his oath as mayor of Davao. According to Comelec, under the rule of succession which applies to cases when an elected official is temporarily incapacitated to perform his/her duties, “the vice-governor, city or municipal vice-mayor, or the highest ranking sangguniang barangay member shall automatically exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the local chief executive concerned”.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia clarified that the official who will assume the position will be assuming in an acting capacity unless the incapacity will be permanent. Based on a report on GMA News, the poll body’s chairman also stressed that after the winning candidate has been proclaimed, his/her fate depends on the DILG.
Garcia stressed that as long as the proclaimed election winner has no pending case, the jurisdiction is immediately transferred to the DILG. Based on the report, the Comelec chairperson added that the Interior department has the say on who will serve and what will happen to the winning local candidates.