Rodrigo Duterte to run for mayor in southern Philippines stronghold

The 79-year-old former president bids to return as mayor of Davao City, which he previously led for two decades.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has registered as a candidate in the 2025 election for mayor of Davao, the southern city stronghold that he led for some 20 years before becoming president.

Duterte, 79, filed his papers on Monday with the Election Commission in Davao on the southern island of Mindanao. His son, Sebastian Duterte, who is the current mayor, will be his running mate in the elections, officials said.

Davao is a family stronghold for Duterte, who faces local and international investigations over the drug war in which thousands of people were killed while he was president.

Duterte’s decision to run for mayor follows a bitter, public falling out with the family of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“I want to serve you,” Duterte, the father of Vice President Sara Duterte, told reporters after submitting his candidacy documents.

He said he planned to make Davao “better than yesterday”.

Protesters parade effigies of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) and Vice President Sara Duterte coming to blows [File: Ted Aljibe/AFP]

The former president’s decision to contest the Davao election is seen as a move to galvanise support for Sara Duterte, who is widely expected to run for president in 2028.

Marcos Jr will not be eligible to run because presidents are restricted to serving a single term, but his cousin, Martin Romualdez, who is currently the speaker of the House of Representatives, is expected to contest.

The 2025 midterm vote is crucial for both the Duterte and Marcos families as they seek to shore up their support ahead of the 2028 campaign.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating allegations of human rights abuses committed during Duterte’s drug war, which has continued under Marcos.

The House of Representatives is also conducting committee hearings on the drug war killings.

More than 6,000 people were killed in a police-enforced crackdown on illegal drugs under Duterte, according to official data released by the Philippines. ICC prosecutors estimate the death toll at between 12,000 and 30,000.

Duterte has denied condoning extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, although he openly threatened suspects with death and ordered police to shoot suspects who dangerously resisted arrest.

Sara Duterte, who resigned from her posts of education secretary and head of an anti-insurgency body in July, is also facing impeachment threats in the House of Representatives.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies