DILG directs Baste Duterte to serve as Davao City acting mayor

Metro Manila, Philippines - Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte will serve as acting mayor while his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, remains detained in a facility of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

In line with the Local Government Code, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla formally directed the younger Duterte to take on the role after he assumed office on June 30.

“You are hereby enjoined to perform the duties and functions of Mayor of Davao City to prevent paralysis of government operations,” Remulla told Duterte in a letter.

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) also designated City Council Member Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II as the acting vice mayor. He is the former president’s grandson and the acting vice mayor’s nephew.

The DILG said the move is “legal and necessary” to maintain continuity of the city leadership.

Duterte secured Davao City’s top post by a landslide win in the midterm polls.

He was proclaimed in absentia as he is facing charges of crimes against humanity for murder in relation to his bloody war on drugs.

NewsWatch Plus correspondent Daniza Fernandez contributed to this report.