Despite his detention in the International Criminal Court, former Philippines President C appeared to have been elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, according to preliminary results on Tuesday, reports AP.
At least five candidates backed by his family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday’s midterm elections. Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious.
The results come as a boost for Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. She is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over a raft of charges including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife, and the House speaker.
Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her position and be disqualified from holding public office forever. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote in her favour.
The official election results will be known within a week. But the partial and unofficial count by election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting showed Duterte garnering more than half a million votes in his stronghold Davao City, nearly eight times more than his closest rival.
His youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao, is also leading the unofficial vote count in the race for Davao vice mayor. His eldest son, Paolo, and two grandsons are also running for office in positions within the government.
Sara Duterte had told reporters after voting on Monday that she was in talks with her father’s lawyers on how he could take his oath as mayor despite being behind bars.
Duterte served as Davao’s mayor for two decades before becoming president. He has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that left thousands of suspects dead during his 2016-2022 presidency.