MANILA: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has won the mayoral election in his home city by a landslide, poll results showed on Tuesday, despite his detention at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.
Duterte won another term as mayor of Davao City with more than 662,000 votes, which is about 85 percent of the total and eight times more than his closest rival.
In ICC custody since March, Duterte is awaiting trial over the “war on drugs” campaign during his time as president in 2016-22, which the court estimates resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 Filipinos.
But even from a jail cell halfway across the world, his legacy as mayor of Davao for more than two decades before becoming president lives on, enough for his supporters to show up in masses at the polls.
“He is the father figure for most Davaoenos (people of Davao). He is largely credited for the peace and order in the city, which is far better than anywhere else,” Davao resident and former journalist Allan Afdal Dawal told Arab News.
“Things worked and people can walk in the busy streets without being pickpocketed or robbed. For example, Agdao was a gangland until the ’90s. Now it’s a bustling commercial district,” he said. “As for his ICC case, most people believed he would eventually be exonerated as the charges were seen as trumped up.”
Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office, unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals.
Duterte, 80, first became mayor of Davao in 1988, at a time when the city was plagued by violence, insurgency and gang warfare.
“Davao’s peace and order situation in the ’80s was unimaginable. When PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) took over, it was a miraculous 360-degree turn. He ruled with an iron fist but made Davaoenos feel safer,” Davao native Jojie told Arab News.
Davao, the third most-populated city in the Philippines, has since topped global lists of safest and most livable cities across Asia.
In Duterte, the people of Davao remember a leader who is approachable and relatable.
“He’s very different from the typical politician who’s like ‘high and mighty’ or usually has a lot of bodyguards … So many of the people here felt that finally, there’s someone who is ‘one of them,’” business owner May Ann told Arab News.
People often saw him in public spaces, including driving a taxi around the city. Interacting with Duterte, who locals call Digong, was a normal occurrence that made people “feel like they know him personally and have a close connection with him,” she added.
“I used to volunteer at a halfway home for children with cancer, and he would always be there on Survivors’ Day. Even though I knew about the EJKs (extrajudicial killings), many of us overlooked it because of what he had done for the city.”
Duterte’s deadly anti-drugs campaign has been the subject of international investigation for years, leading to his arrest in March. He has repeatedly defended the crackdown and denied the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug suspects, although he has also openly admitted to instructing police to kill in self-defense.
He could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC. But while his legal fate remains uncertain, Duterte could still take his oath as mayor despite being behind bars.
“If I were President Duterte, I will ask ICC to be given the chance to take an oath of office as elected mayor of Davao before an official of the Philippines’ consulate to make more official his victory. Though it could be a long shot, depends on his lawyers’ arguments,” election lawyer Romy Macalintal told Arab News.
“In his absence, the vice mayor will act as mayor ... The elected vice mayor is his son.”
