- Legal team races against time to allow FPRRD to take oath as mayor
FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team has begun gathering documents to petition for his temporary liberty so that he could take his oath as the elected mayor of Davao City, which typically takes place 30 days after the proclamation.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) stated on Tuesday that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will determine who will exercise the functions of Davao City mayor while Duterte is detained in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte was proclaimed the winner of the mayoral race in Davao City on Tuesday, garnering a landslide victory with 662,630 votes against his former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who received 80,852 votes.
However, he is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands, facing potential charges at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity related to killings during his administration’s war on drugs.
In an ambush interview with national reporters, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said, “We’ll leave that to the DILG.” He clarified, “The jurisdiction of the Comelec is to proclaim who won in the elections.”
Laudiangco explained that detained candidates can still be proclaimed winners absent any court or Comelec order suspending the proclamation.
“We have yet to receive an order from any court or the commission that there should be no proclamation. Regardless of whether it’s former President Duterte, all candidates may be proclaimed by the boards of canvassers if he or she won and there is no order to suspend the proclamation,” he stated.
Laudiangco also said the physical presence of winning candidates is not required for the proclamation, and the raising of hands is merely “symbolic and ceremonial.”
The Davao City Board of Canvassers proclaimed Duterte the mayoral race winner on Tuesday afternoon following his significant victory.
On Monday, May 12, 2025, Vice President Sara Duterte indicated that securing the official certificate of proclamation for her father would precede any action regarding his assumption of office.
Wearing a black shirt when she voted at Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School on Monday morning, the vice president explained that the color symbolized her disapproval of the current administration’s actions. “These are for the country. The current situation in our nation is truly disheartening,” she added.
She mentioned prior family discussions about possible scenarios if her father won the mayoral election despite his overseas detention.
“According to his lawyer at the ICC, once we get the proclamation papers, we will again discuss how former President Rodrigo Duterte can take his oath of office,” the Vice President said.
Furthermore, she disclosed that her father’s legal team has already begun compiling documents and preparing requests for his interim release or temporary liberty.
