Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has called on Filipinos to choose a future leader who reflects the qualities of his father, detained former President Rodrigo Duterte, as the country looks ahead to the 2028 national elections.
“If we choose another leader for the Philippines, then piliin niyo ‘yung tao na kung saan nakikita niyo sa tatay ko,” the mayor said in remarks reported by SMNI. (Choose the leader in whom you see what you saw in my father.)
The appeal fits a broader pattern of political positioning by the Duterte camp. Vice President Sara Duterte, the mayor’s older sister, declared in February 2026 that she will run for president in 2028, framing her bid around what she described as the failures of the Marcos administration. Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at the International Criminal Court’s facility in The Hague over crimes against humanity linked to his war on drugs, has given his blessing to her candidacy, according to the vice president.
Baste Duterte’s own profile within the movement has risen sharply. In April 2026, he was sworn in as president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan, succeeding his father, and he was tapped to lead the RAGE Coalition, an opposition front that says it aims to push for accountability and defend democratic processes. Some opposition figures have read his elevation as positioning him as a family fallback for 2028, a scenario the mayor has publicly waved off. In an interview in The Hague, he denied any interest in national office, saying he would be satisfied if Davao continued to thrive under a competent president.
The remarks come as Sara Duterte faces an impeachment trial in the Senate that opened on July 6, 2026. The mayor has argued the proceedings are designed to block his sister from running in 2028, an accusation the case’s proponents reject.
