As we wrote earlier in this space, the political battle at the local level in Davao City is already fought this early. And if an opposition to the position of Mayor now in strong grip of incumbent Sebastian “Baste” Duterte will rise, the local administration sees it to come from the Nograles family.
This despite the fact that shortly before the 2016 national election there was some kind of “healing” in the enmity between the two warring political families in this southern metropolis. It may be recalled that with former Mayor now Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio known to be friend to then Congressman Karlo Nograles of the first district, the latter’s family rallied to the elder Duterte for his quest for the Presidency.
There was also another indication of rapprochement between the two families when the acknowledged opposition to the Dutertes, the Nograleses, did not put up a candidate against Polong Duterte who was then running for First District Congressman for the first time then.
Moreover, Karlo was later appointed Cabinet Secretary vice then CabSec Jun Evaso who ran for governor in Bohol. And later former President Duterte moved Karlo to the chairmanship of the Civil Service Commission taking over the place vacated by former Chair Dr. Francisco Duque who was appointed by Duterte as Secretary of the Department of Health.
But two years into incumbent President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s term comes the parting of ways between the Dutertes and the President. The two political giants were the main personalities in the once formidable UniTeam.
With the estrangement at the national level it also became apparent that the shaky Duterte-Nograles union in Davao City is crumbling like domino pieces. The PBA Partylist Congresswoman Migs Nograles, the latter family member who is suspected by the local administration as the most potential person to oppose Mayor Baste or any of the younger Dutertes, is now the object of the juggernauts of the attacks emanating from the local political gods.
It also appears that every reaction of Congresswoman Migs to the tirades of the local administration, while not sharply confrontational in terms of language used, is not one that shows signs of cowering. In other words the lady Partylist lawmaker is ready and willing to take the heat. The latest is when she reacted to the brickbats of the Vice President on her (Migs’s) stand in the Congressional probe that led to the suspension of the franchise of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s television network. In Ms. Nograles’ retort she said she respect the VP’s position on the issue. However, she also asked the Vice President to respect the process resorted to by Congress in looking into the violation of Quiboloy’s network of the conditions set forth in the franchise.
With the current exchanges of adversarial harangues from the Duterte and the Nograles with the supporters of the two personalities joining the fray, it is apparent that the main apple of discord is politics at the local level. It can easily be gleaned from the fact that the volleys now being fired either come from the VP herself, or from the Office of First District Congressman Polong. And these came at the heels of VP Sara’s issuing a statement that her brothers Polong and Mayor Baste, as well as her father former President Duterte, are all eyeing a senate seat in the 2025 midterm polls.
The same VP’s statement leaves a lot of room for interpretation one of which is that it is a “fishing expedition” where the Dutertes are using such statement as a bait for the Nograleses to let out a decision to field their bet for Mayor who the local ruling clan suspects is Congresswoman Migs.
By then the ruling family will be able to assess the strength of the potential opposition candidate for mayor and decide whether to let incumbent Baste run for reelection, or field Congressman Polong, or possibly let the VP slide back to the mayor’s post.
Who knows whether the rule in the 1935 Constitution that allows those in the higher national elective post to run for a lower position like that of City Mayor without resigning from their position. When she or he wins the local post he or she may opt not to assume. Instead the winning Vice Mayor who belongs to the same line-up is made to assume and the said national official goes back to his/her old higher elective post.
We are certain that there are still many elderly Davaoeno voters who could still remember the Cebu City experience when the late pre-martial law Senator Sergio Osmena, Jr. slid down to run for mayor of Cebu City several times. His purpose is to ensure that the city remains under the control of the Osmenas during that time.
The former President is no stranger to such political scheme. His father was a Cebuano and certainly was aware of the Osmena strategy. Former President Duterte for certain, could also be very much familiar of how that political gambit worked in the Osmena era in Cebu City. We were on our first and second time voting then in that Central Visayas city.
But of course, as we said here in the early part of this column, we are not certain if under the present Charter it is still allowed. If not, then it is looked up to as possibly for the betterment of society.
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