Why does Duterte remain popular, influential in Davao City?

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DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The International Criminal Court (ICC) was well aware of former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s unwavering influence in the country and Davao City. So much so that when the all-women pre-trial chamber ordered Duterte’s arrest over crimes against humanity, they cited it as among the justifications for his arrest.

“The Chamber observes that Mr. Duterte, even though no longer the President of the Philippines, appears to continue to wield considerable power,” the judges noted.

“Mindful of the resultant risk of interference with the investigations and the security of witnesses and victims, the Chamber is satisfied that the arrest of [Mr.] Duterte is necessary within the meaning of article 58(1)(b)(i) of the Statute to ensure his appearance before the Court,” they added.

Duterte, whose drug war has taken the lives of nearly 30,000 people based on human rights groups’ tallies, is detained in The Hague, Netherlands courtesy of the ICC warrant. He became the first former Philippine president and Asian head of state to be arrested over crimes against humanity.

While Duterte faces his own pile of controversies, his other family members have also had their fair share — daughter and incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte is set to face an impeachment trial over her alleged misuse of confidential funds, Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte has been tagged in the illegal drug trade by quad committee witnesses and faces a drug smuggling complaint courtesy of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Yet the trust and confidence of Davao supporters in the Dutertes has not wavered. On March 28 — Duterte’s 80th birthday — around 60,000 people gathered to call for the release of the former president from detention.

How to explain this continuing popularity and the attraction of the Duterte family’s brand of politics?

Peace and order platform

Rising from the devastation wrought by World War II in the 1940s, Davao City was caught in between the warring factions of the military and rebels in the 1970s and 1980s. Local political analyst Ramon Beleno III said that apart from military forces and insurgents, vigilante groups and some Muslim insurgents also disrupted peace in the city.

Malou Abella Lopez, a former activist and now a member of anti-dictatorship and anti-Martial Law group Konsensya Dabaw, recalled that the rebels’ underground movement was strong even during the latter half of the 1980s. The insurgents’ presence was strongly felt even in the urban areas, although the New People’s Army, according to Lopez, only targeted abusive military and police officers in the city.

The Davao City government claimed that Duterte was able to solve these peace and order problems when he became mayor in 1988.

Screenshot from Davao City’s website

Malou and Beleno both agreed that Duterte was able to stop the violence associated with the unrest after he won as mayor. According to Beleno, Duterte was able to resolve issues because he reached out to the rebels, Muslim insurgents, and other parties involved in the conflict.

“[Violence] was the first thing that he actually tried to resolve. And, admittedly, he said that peace and order was his only expertise. So it’s like, ‘I take care of peace and order, you take care of the rest.’ So basically, that was the arrangement during that time,” Beleno told Rappler.

Dabawenyos bought the idea that Duterte was the savior who brought peace to Davao. The former president successfully inculcated in the hearts and minds of residents that he was key in solving the decades-long problem of violence.

This could be part of the reason why the so-called “Duterte Magic” has worked and continues to work, according to local anthropologist Amiel Lopez.

“Until now, when you say Duterte, [he] is someone who shooed away the NPAs, theft, different crimes. This had been associated with him because people [believed] that ‘magic,’ and they were able to associate Duterte with peace and security and order in Davao City,” Lopez said.

“So in that sense, that setup was normalized here. So they go back to that [belief] that when you put away, when you let go of the Dutertes, it’s like it would crumble because they themselves established peace and order here in the city,” he added.

For long-time development worker Mags Maglana, who’s facing Duterte’s son Paolo in the 1st congressional district race, the narrative that Duterte brought peace to Davao City had been used by the family for their own benefit. These claims of Duterte being a savior was left unchallenged, so the Dutertes’ popularity grew even more.

“If we don’t speak up now, imagine what the narratives will be 10 years from now…So it’s important to speak up, give different perspectives, and to challenge dominant narratives,” Maglana told Rappler.

Was there really ‘peace’?

Davao City had earned a reputation for being one of the safest cities in the world. Its progressive policies such as its “no smoking” ordinance, ban on firecrackers, and even the low speed limit for vehicles got public attention.

Duterte was harsh when it came to crimes and criminals. While he was perceived to be successful in solving conflict in his city, the image of Davao City as an entirely peaceful place might not be completely true. Duterte himself had said it — he believes that fighting crime his way will be bloody and violent, not figuratively, but literally.

Ruy Elias Lopez, a candidate for the 3rd congressional district and former ally of Duterte, said that when Duterte became mayor, the “bodies came.” According to Ruy, who’s also the son of Davao City’s first Bagobo mayor Elias, the killings when Duterte became the city’s chief targeted alleged criminals and drug addicts.

Two self-confessed DDS members — Arturo Lascañas and Edgar Matobato — revealed in their affidavits how Duterte allegedly used his own death squad to kill alleged criminals. Retired police colonel Royina Garma, who served in multiple positions in Davao City, confirmed in her bombshell testimony before the House of Representatives Duterte’s alleged drug war template that he used in Davao City and then later applied to the whole country.

Ruy said his fellow Dabawenyos accepted these killings without due process. For Amiel Lopez, the desensitization of Dabawenyos happened because Duterte was able to successfully normalize violence in their culture by introducing an imaginary war.

“I think, Duterte was really trying to create [a] war — a war that made people and let people believe that there was something happening. And for that war to happen, we need to have a plan on who is the antagonist and the protagonist. And the antagonists are those criminals, those killings, those that are being killed,” the anthropologist explained.

“Because the idea is that this is for the nation, this is for the greater population, we need to kill. And there’s the idea that it’s not anymore negotiable because for us to win the war on drugs, we need to kill people, whatever the means,” he added.

‘Tatay Digong’

Duterte served as mayor for several terms: 1988 to 1998; 2001 to 2010; and 2013 to 2016. During these years, he was able to successfully brand himself as “tatay” or father of his constituents.

The mayor was beloved by Dabawenyos because of his “Gikan sa Masa, para sa Masa,” a weekly public service program hosted by Duterte. He was seen as a simple and ordinary public servant because he would personally talk to his constituents, and was very visible to them.

Beleno said Duterte was regarded as the caring “father” whose job was to discipline the city. His iron-fist policy was accepted as part of his “fatherly duties.”

Duterte endeared himself to them by a deep personal connection he managed to establish. According to Malou, some of her friends still support Duterte because of their personal experiences with him — they were saved from criminals when he was mayor or got personal favors or assistance from him.

“That imaginary social kinship, that you are someone protected, you are someone nurtured, you are someone loved by this father — it gives the idea that Davao is stable because of “tatay.” And that kinship was ingrained into Davaoeños,” Amiel Lopez explained.

But besides being the harbinger of peace and the city’s father figure, there’s another reason for the formidable Duterte brand of politics: their political dynasty. (To be concluded)– Rappler.com

*Quotes were translated into English for brevity