Grapevine

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.