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RESIDENCE. Duterte supporters gather outside the former president's home in Davao City on March 27, 2025.
Errol Almario/Rappler
The Davao City rally coincides with the kickoff of local campaigns for the 2025 midterm elections
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Locals are expected to fill the streets of Davao City as they celebrate former president Rodrigo Duterte’s 80th birthday on Friday, March 28, and call for his return to the country.
Starting 3 pm, Duterte supporters will line up along CM Recto and Roxas Avenues for their event titled, “Rody at 80: Global Filipino Solidarity.” The event also coincides with the kickoff of local campaigns for the 2025 midterm elections.
“This is more than an event — it’s a cause. Let’s stand together and make our call even stronger: Bring PRRD Back Home!” the Duterte-led Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod said.
Apart from flaglets and candles, the local party also encouraged Duterte supporters to wear green shirts. Duterte’s daughter and Vice President Sara Duterte used the same color in the 2022 national elections, and it has now become associated with their family.
The Duterte patriarch is detained at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands over his crimes against humanity case. He was arrested on March 11, after local authorities implemented the ICC warrant coursed through the Interpol. This made Duterte the first former Philippine president and former Asian head of state to be arrested for the alleged crimes.
Duterte was charged before the ICC over his bloody drug war that killed nearly 30,000 people, according to human rights groups’ tallies. Apart from this, his so-called Davao Death Squad — which he allegedly used to carry out kill orders in Davao City — was also included in the ICC proceedings.
As early as Thursday, event organizers had already started to assemble the stage that will be used for Friday’s rally. Supporters also put up a big poster in Davao City to greet the former president for his birthday.
The local traffic management office announced partial road closures in the city to give way to the event. Some government offices and educational institutions shifted to work-from-home mode and asynchronous classes due to road closures.
Outside of Duterte’s residence in Matina, his supporters put up posters and standees to show support for the detained former president. His home has become an instant tourist attraction as supporters continued to flock to the house to take photos, while some had started to sell Duterte “merch.”
Before the March 28 rally, the locals led by the Duterte family also took to the streets on the city’s 88th founding anniversary on March 16, only a few days after Duterte’s ICC arrest. There, local police said, nearly 20,000 people marched and called for the release of their former mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Sebastian Duterte slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the said event, reminding him how Duterte allowed the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“Ang imong amahan gipalubong sa akong amahan pero akong amahan gipapriso nimu (My father allowed the burial of your father but you had my father imprisoned),” the younger Duterte said. “Do not ever allow your government to treat you how they treated my father.”
The mayor is also expected to attend and speak during Friday’s rally, as some of his family members are still in the Netherlands.
High stakes race
The 2025 midterm elections will test the Duterte family’s grip on their bailiwick amid their patriarch’s arrest and the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
From 1988 to the present, a member of the Duterte dynasty has held the city’s top post, except from 1998 to 2001, when Benjamin de Guzman sat as mayor.
The older Duterte, the patriarch, served as mayor from 1988 to 1998, 2001 to 2010, and then from 2013 to 2016. The Vice President followed in her father’s footsteps and filled in the missing years from 2010 to 2013, then in 2016 to 2022. Sebastian or “Baste” is the latest to hold the post after he was elected in 2022, replacing Sara.
For this year’s polls, the family is facing familiar and new political challengers.
The Nograleses — a well-entrenched political family in Davao City — is seeking a comeback through the children of the late former speaker Prospero Nograles. Duterte’s own former Cabinet secretary and former acting spokesperson Karlo Nograles is challenging him for the mayoralty post. Meanwhile, lawmaker Migs Nograles Almario is facing Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte in the congressional race.
Known development worker Mags Maglana has also thrown her hat into ring, seeking to conquer the 1st District by beating both Duterte and Nograles.
For the vice mayoralty post, Sebastian is defending his post against his predecessor, Bernie Al-ag. Meanwhile, two more Dutertes — Paolo’s sons Omar and Rodrigo II — are running in the congressional and council races, respectively.
The results of the May 12 polls will not only show who won in the city’s local races, but will also be a gauge of the effects of the ICC arrest warrant and Sara’s impeachment on the Dutertes’ brand of politics. – Rappler.com
