{"id":16956,"date":"2025-05-18T15:02:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T15:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/18\/duterte-scores-landslide-win-in-local-elections-but-can-he-be-mayor-from-the-hague\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T15:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T15:02:33","slug":"duterte-scores-landslide-win-in-local-elections-but-can-he-be-mayor-from-the-hague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/18\/duterte-scores-landslide-win-in-local-elections-but-can-he-be-mayor-from-the-hague\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte scores landslide win in local elections. But can he be mayor from The Hague?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the gripping game of thrones of Philippine politics, voters have delivered former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte a sweeping mayoral victory in his hometown stronghold of Davao \u2013 predictable for a family that has held the job for more than 20 years. <\/p>\n

But this latest landslide win creates a predicament for the Philippines, as the mayor-elect is thousands of miles away behind bars awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague accuse the 80-year-old political patriarch of carrying out a brutal war on drugs that killed possibly thousands of people, including many innocents and bystanders. Though he openly boasted about the crackdown, Duterte has long denied accusations of human rights abuses and has repeatedly said he will not kowtow to a foreign court. <\/p>\n

His next hearing is in September, but before then experts say he faces a new, complicated legal battle between the ICC and Philippine jurisdiction over whether he will be allowed to take the oath of office. <\/p>\n

Duterte can potentially be sworn in by proxy or in absentia \u2013 possibly by a video call, but only if The Hague-based court allows it, experts say. <\/p>\n

If he\u2019s allowed to assume the role, questions will be asked about how he could administer the southern city from a detention center in another time zone, where he has access to a computer and phone calls to family, but no internet. <\/p>\n

Under Philippine law, day-to-day duties could fall to his youngest son, Sebastian Duterte, who was elected as vice mayor of Davao City. <\/p>\n

If the senior Duterte isn\u2019t allowed to take the oath, experts say the role of mayor could fall to election runner-up Karlo Nograles, of the Nograles political dynasty, longtime Duterte rivals in Davao, where both families tussle for influence. <\/p>\n

Ramon Beleno, a political analyst and former professor from Ateneo de Davao University, said handing the job to Nograles could trigger a separate legal challenge from the Dutertes. <\/p>\n

Duterte\u2019s \u2018last hurrah\u2019?<\/h2>\n

Duterte remains a powerful yet divisive figure in the Philippines. In Davao City, where he served as mayor for over two decades before becoming president in 2016, fervent supporters credit his iron grip over the city with bolstering law and order. <\/p>\n

Duterte\u2019s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, was quoted by Philippine news outlet ABS-CBN as saying the \u201coverwhelming\u201d support for Duterte in the 2025 midterm elections showed the public\u2019s \u201ctotal rejection\u201d of the national government\u2019s \u201cattempt to stamp out\u201d the former president\u2019s legacy. <\/p>\n

Beleno said voters saw this election as Duterte\u2019s \u201clast hurrah\u201d and cast their ballot as a final tribute to the aging former strongman leader. Duterte\u2019s arrest had only galvanized voters, he said. <\/p>\n

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Supporters of detained former Philippine President Duterte chant his name during a solidarity rally on his birthday, in Davao City, Philippines, March 28, 2025.<\/span> <\/div>
Eloisa Lopez\/Reuters\/File<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Families of victims of Duterte’s “war on drugs” raise flowers and pictures of relatives during a thanksgiving Mass in Quezon City, Philippines, March 31, 2025.<\/span> <\/div>
Aaron Favila\/AP\/File<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Support for Duterte extended to his family, who re-emerged in the vote with sweeping control of their political stronghold. <\/p>\n

All five Duterte family members who ran in this election won by a landslide. Duterte\u2019s son Paolo was re-elected to congress and two of Paolo\u2019s sons also won public office: Omar won as congressman for Davao City\u2019s second district and Rodrigo II, who goes by the nickname \u201cRigo,\u201d was elected as first district councilor. <\/p>\n

Sebastian Duterte, the vice mayor-elect \u2013 who could be mayor in his father\u2019s absence \u2013 is not as outspoken as the elder Duterte and a lot of political responsibilities are already weighing against him at home, Beleno said. <\/p>\n

Is he allowed to be mayor?<\/h2>\n

The main legal hurdle Duterte faces, despite his landslide mayoral win, is whether he would be allowed to swear the oath during his enforced absence. <\/p>\n

All elected public officials are supposed to take their oath within 30 days of their supposed assumption of office on July 1, according to Joel Butuyan, an ICC-accredited lawyer and president of human rights NGO CenterLaw. <\/p>\n

Unable to be sworn in at home, Duterte would need to take the oath in the presence of a Philippine ambassador or consul in The Hague, which seems unlikely, Butuyan said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to be allowed to get out just to take office because it\u2019s not in the enumerated rights of an accused (person) in the ICC,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

If the ICC grants Duterte permission, the oath will be recognized in the Philippines, but he \u201cwill not be able to perform his functions because he\u2019s out of the country and he\u2019s in detention,\u201d Butuyan said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not ideal at all,\u201d Butuyan added, of the election result. \u201cIt does not serve the interests of the people of Davao that they voted for someone who will not be able to perform his functions as a city mayor.\u201d <\/p>\n

The mayor is the face of the city, with administrative tasks such as attending meetings and functions, signing documents and authorizing payrolls \u2013 all difficult to do effectively if Duterte is sitting halfway across the world, said Beleno, the political analyst. <\/p>\n

Even before the final votes were cast, Duterte\u2019s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, said that her father\u2019s ICC lawyer and Philippine legal team were discussing how he can take the oath. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe ICC lawyer said that once we get proclamation papers, we\u2019ll discuss again how former President Rodrigo Duterte can take the oath,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In a court filing to the ICC earlier this month, Kaufman said there is no legal basis for the case against Duterte because the Philippines is no longer a member of the Rome Statute. <\/p>\n

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, but under the court\u2019s withdrawal mechanism, it keeps jurisdiction over crimes committed during the membership period of a state \u2013 in this case, between 2016 and 2019, when the country\u2019s pullout became official. <\/p>\n

A political stalemate<\/h2>\n

The closely watched midterm election was considered a proxy battle between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Duterte-Carpio as ties disintegrate between the former allies turned enemies. <\/p>\n

The vice president is facing impeachment complaints in the House of Representatives amid allegations of corruption, which she denies. A two-thirds vote in the Senate is required to convict her, remove her from public office, and ban her from seeking any public post. <\/p>\n

To stay in office, Duterte-Carpio needs nine of 24 senators to vote for her acquittal. And neither the Marcoses nor the Dutertes dominate the Senate after the May 2025 vote. <\/p>\n

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Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio arrives to cast her vote at a polling center in Davao City, southern Philippines on May 12, 2025.<\/span> <\/div>
Manman Dejeto\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The race yielded a three-way stalemate between Marcos-endorsed candidates, Duterte-allied politicians, and liberal-leaning figures, said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe vice president has more breathing room now \u2026 but she should also be careful with how the public perceives her,\u201d Atienza said. \u201cHer popularity ratings have recovered a bit \u2026 but we have seen she can make mistakes that can affect the sentiments of the people.\u201d <\/p>\n

In reality, the Filipino public is also becoming impatient with the drama in high places, Atienza said. \u201cThey\u2019re getting tired of having the Dutertes always fighting with the Marcoses,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

For now, political bickering is in gridlock. But Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s stronghold still stands and his supporters long for the day he is officially declared mayor and comes back to serve his home country. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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