Rodrigo Duterte will run for mayor in the strong southern Philippines | Rodrigo Duterte News

The 79-year-old former president is asking to return as mayor of Davao City, which he has led for twenty years.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has registered as a candidate for the 2025 election for the position of mayor of Davao, a suburb south of the city he led for 20 years before becoming president.

Duterte, 79, filed his papers on Monday at the Commission on Elections in Davao on the southern island of Mindanao. His son, Sebastian Duterte, who is currently mayor, will be his running mate, officials said.

Davao is home to the Duterte family, which is facing domestic and international investigations into the drug war that killed thousands of people during his presidency.

Duterte’s decision to run for mayor follows a bitter public disagreement with the family of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“I want to work for you,” Duterte, the father of Vice President Sara Duterte, told reporters after submitting his nomination papers.

He said he plans to make Davao “better than yesterday”.

The former president’s decision to contest the Davao election is considered a step to encourage support for Sara Duterte, who is expected to run for president in 2028.

Marcos Jr will not be eligible to run because presidents are limited to one term, but his cousin, Martin Romualdez, who is now Speaker of the House of Representatives, is expected to run.

The 2025 midterm vote is crucial for both the Duterte and Marcos families as they seek to shore up their support ahead of the 2028 campaign.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged human rights abuses committed during Duterte’s drug war, which continued under Marcos.

The House of Representatives is also conducting committee hearings on drug-related killings.

More than 6,000 people have been killed during police investigations into illegal drugs under Duterte, according to official figures released by the Philippines. ICC prosecutors estimate the death toll at between 12,000 and 30,000.

Duterte has denied that he allows the killing of suspects illegally, although he publicly threatened the suspects to kill them and ordered the police to shoot suspects who do not want to be arrested.

Sara Duterte, who resigned as education secretary and head of the anti-terrorism agency in July, is facing impeachment threats in the House of Representatives.