With the former President’s namesake and grandson, Davao City Councilor Rodrigo S. Duterte, taking his oath as vice mayor here before the year ends, supporters of the Duterte political family are floating the name of his aunt, Veronica ‘Kitty’ Duterte, as his possible replacement.
The 21-year-old Kitty is the youngest daughter of the former President.
The acting vice mayor, also known here as Rigo, said that his oath-taking, along with that of his uncle, Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte, would take place towards the end of November or early December this year, prompting the public to ask: Who would fill the council seat that he would vacate?
Rigo is the son of Rep. Paolo Duterte, who is in turn the eldest son of the former President. Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang said Kitty would be eligible for the post should the Duterte-led Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HTL) political party decide to nominate her.
Both Dayanghirang and Councilor Alberto Ungab also cited during a press forum here a provision of the law on succession through political nomination, which says that the appointee to the vacated post should come from the same political party as the councilor who caused the vacancy.
They were referring to HTL, the party that launched Rigo Duterte, who will move up as vice mayor.
Dayanghirang said Kitty had been a member of HTL, a political party chaired by her father. However, her nomination, should it be made, must be decided and endorsed by the party leadership.
If this pushes through, one more Duterte would be added to the helm of the local government here, where the key positions of mayor, vice mayor, congressmen, and even city councilors are held by the Dutertes and their allies.
Ungab, who chairs the city council committees on appointments and government reorganization, said that several committee posts currently held by Rigo Duterte would automatically become vacant once he moved up. ‘Certainly, there will be some changes,’ he said. ‘If the acting vice mayor officially assumes the post, the committees he currently chairs will be vacated.’ He noted, however, that the city council would address it when the time comes.
Ungab said he was not yet aware of the possibility that the former President’s youngest daughter could be a nominee for the vacant seat. Still, he added that when it involved HTL party endorsement, the discussions would be internal.
He added, however, that the mayor would have to approve the party’s recommendation before endorsing it to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The former President, who won as mayor of Davao City in the last elections, has been unable to serve his term, as he is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands, for crimes against humanity charges filed at the International Criminal Court by families of victims of his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
As a result, his youngest son, Sebastian, who won as vice mayor, would have to take over as mayor, and his grandson, Rigo, who won as the number one councilor, would have to move up as vice mayor. Aside from Vice President Sara Duterte and her brothers Paolo and Sebastian, other Duterte family members in politics include 2nd district Rep. Omar Duterte, who is the son of Paolo, and Paolo’s wife, January Duterte, who holds a seat at the Davao City Council as president of the Association of Barangay Captains.