01-07-2025
Baste Duterte to serve as acting Davao City mayor
Vice Mayor Sebastian 'Baste' Duterte will assume the role of acting mayor of Davao City following the failure of his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, to take his oath of office.
The elder Duterte, who won the mayoral election in May by a landslide with over 662,000 votes, remains in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirmed that the succession is in accordance with Section 46(a) of the Local Government Code, which provides that the vice mayor shall automatically perform the functions of the mayor in cases of temporary incapacity, whether physical or legal.
In addition, the DILG designated first-ranked Sangguniang Panlungsod Member Rodrigo Duterte II as acting vice mayor, in line with Administrative Order No. 15, series of 2018, which outlines the rules of succession in local government units.
Former President Duterte is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC in connection with his administration's anti-drug campaign, which left over 6,000 people dead according to government data.
