MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte will remain a candidate for Davao City mayor in the May 12, 2025 midterm elections despite his recent arrest for alleged crimes against humanity.
According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia, Duterte is not yet disqualified since there is still no final judgment of conviction.
“As far as the Comelec is concerned, siya pa rin hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay kandidato, ang pangalan niya ay nasa balota, at maiboboto ng kababayan natin. Tignan natin kung may magfa-file ng something or whatever,” Garcia said.
“Ang ating batas ay nagsasabing kailangang may final judgment of conviction. Hindi natin pa masasabi sa kasalukuyan kung ang conviction na binabanggit ay conviction dito o dito ay dapat na conviction na dapat sa abroad,” he added.
Garcia further said that the votes cast in his favor will not be considered stray since he is still a candidate.
Meanwhile, Duterte critic and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has urged former Civil Service Commission (CSC) chairperson Atty. Karlo Nograles to file a disqualification case against his Davao City mayoralty race rival.
“At this point na once ultimately ma-turnover na sa ICC itong si Duterte ay pwede na mag-file ng disqualification case itong si mayoral candidate Karlo Nograles kasi physically hindi na siya pwedeng makapag-serve,” said Trillanes.
“Unfair po yan sa mga mamamayan ng Davao City kaya that will justify the disqualification of Duterte as a candidate for mayor,” he added. “Definitely malalagpasan niya yung three years na term ng isang mayor.”
Duterte was a longtime mayor of Davao City before he ran and won the presidency in 2016. He formalized his intention to return as mayor when he filed his certificate of candidacy in October 2024./PN
