Mayor Duterte to Marcos: “My father had your father buried; you had my father imprisoned”

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 March) – It was supposed to be a celebration of the 88^th foundation day of Davao City but Sunday’s Parada Dabawenyo became a rally calling for the return of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the resignation of incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s speech said nothing about Araw ng Dabaw. Instead, he addressed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from the stage during the parade, reminding him that his father had allowed the remains of  former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) while Marcos Jr. had his father imprisoned. 

“Ang imong amahan, gipalubong sa akong amahan, pero akong amahan imong gipa-priso nimo. Put*ng ina ka,” Duterte told a crowd of city government workers and supporters, most of them wearing black shirts.

The mayor himself did not call for Marcos’ resignation but as he spoke, the crowd chanted, “Marcos resign, Marcos resign.”

^{Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte addresses the public – and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – during the Parada Dabawenyo on 16 March 2025. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO}

Mayor Duterte was the first Duterte to call for Marcos’ resignation last year. At the Hakbang ng Maisug Leader’s Forum here  on January 28, 2024, he called on President Marcos to resign for allegedly not protecting that gains that his father’s administration had won such as the war on drugs and the decimation of the New People’s Army. Addressing the President then, he said: “You are lazy and you lack compassion” 

Hours after the mayor’s call,  former President Duterte spoke at the Hakbang ng Maisug rally at the San Pedro Square here where he called Marcos  “bangag” (high on drugs) with a “hungry for power” wife and warned Marcos would suffer the fate of his father who was ousted by People Power in February 1986, if he does not stop his wife Liza and Speaker Martin Romualdez whom he alleges to be behind the buying of signatures for a “People’s Initiative” to amend the 1987 Constitution. 

Out of a list of 415 contingents in the Parada Dabawenyo, 52 were from the barangays, 54 from city government offices including the Office of the City Mayor, and 18 were from the offices of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. The offices Vice President Sara Duterte and Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa were also represented.

Motorcycle enthusiasts also wore black

Partiicpants of the “Solidarity Walk” from Roxas Avenue to Magsaysay Park passing by San Pedro Square also wore black. MindaNews spoke with several participants who said they would also participate in the One Davao: Solidarity Rally at Magsaysay Park at 5 p.m. 

^{“Solidarity Walk” in Davao City for former President Rodrigo Duterte. Participants are calling for the return of Duterte from The Hague in the Netherlands where he is facing charges of crime against humanity before the International Criminal Court. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO}

At 12:15 p.m., Duterte supporters walked towards San Pedro Square, chanting “Duterte,” “Marcos Resign” and “Marcos bangag.”

Most of them carried Philippine flags, tarpaulins of “Bring Home FPRRD,” and “We Stand for PRRD”, among other similar messages.

By tradition,  parade participants merely walk quietly from Roxas Avenue to CM Recto, Rizal Street and Iñigo Street (old name: Anda), before turning left to San Pedro Street, ending at San Pedro Square.

Maj. Hazel Caballero Tuazon, spokesperson of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) estimated the crowd at least 20,000 participants.

Duterte made his first appearance at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, March 14, where his identity was confirmed. 

Presiding Judge Iula Antoanella Motoc of the Pre-Trial Chamber 1, called on the courtroom officer to read the charges against Duterte. The officer said that a warrant of arrest issued on March 7 as “there were reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible” pursuant to Article 25.3.A of the Rome Statute “as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder.” 

The officer cited the murder of “at least 19 persons allegedly drug pushers or thieves killed by members of the Davao death squad in various locations in or around Davao City, Philippines, between 2011 and 2016” and murder of “at least 24 persons allegedly criminals such as drug pushers or thieves or drug users killed by or under the supervision of members of the Philippines Law Enforcement sometimes with the assistance of persons who were not part of the police at various locations in the Philippines between 2016 and 2019.”

The ICC said that there are reasonable grounds to believe that this attack was both widespread and systematic in that it took place over a period of several years and resulted in thousands of deaths. It explained that in the arrest warrant, “the Chamber focused on a sample of alleged incidents to facilitate its analysis.”

The Philippines remained a State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding from November 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019.

In response to the ICC Prosecutor’s announcement on February 8, 2018, regarding a preliminary examination into the Philippines’ War on Drugs for “possible crimes against humanity,” the Philippine government, under then-President Duterte, submitted its notice of withdrawal from the ICC in March 2018. The withdrawal took effect on March 17, 2019. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)