Sebastian Duterte

Vice Mayor of Davao City (2019–2022)

In 2019, Duterte ran unopposed for vice mayor of Davao City with his sister and incumbent mayor, Sara, as his running mate under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago ticket.^[19][20] The siblings won the election.^[21] He has been appointed "acting mayor" of the city twice: from July 19 to September 17, 2019; and from September 28 to October 5, 2020.^[22][23]

Mayor of Davao City (2022–present)

On November 9, 2021, Duterte decided to withdraw his re-election bid for vice mayor.^[24] He named J. Melchor "Jay" Quitain Jr., Davao City's first district councilor and son of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Jesus Melchor Quitain, as his substitute.^[25] He then ran for mayor as a substitute to his sister Sara,^[26] who would later run for vice president.^[27] He later won in a landslide victory and assumed office on June 30, 2022.^[28][29]

During his tenure as mayor of Davao City, Duterte oversaw efforts to advance digitalization, economic development, and community engagement. In March 2023, he was appointed by President Bongbong Marcos as Davao Region chairman of the Peace and Order Council (RPOC) under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.^[30] His administration introduced the electronic business one stop shop (e-BOSS) to streamline business permits and attracted over ₱1 billion in investments in 2023. Tourism also increased, with 1.3 million arrivals. Key infrastructure projects, including the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project and a new Waste-to-Energy Plant, were initiated.^[31]

Duterte was also involved in the Marcos–Duterte rift during the 2024 constitutional reform attempts in the Philippines. On January 28, 2024, he attended the Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally held in Davao City with his father Rodrigo and sister Sara, which opposed the Marcos administration's Bagong Pilipinas rally in Manila and supported constitutional reforms.^[32] During a political forum on the same day, he asked President Bongbong Marcos to resign, accusing him of laziness and incompetence.^[33] Although Senator Imee Marcos stated that Duterte later apologized, he clarified that his apology was directed only at the senator "out of pity" and demanded she stop "using him" for political statements.^[34][35][36]

On September 5, 2024, Duterte joined Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), the party chaired by his father Rodrigo Duterte, as its new member and executive vice chairperson.^[37][38] It was later announced that he would run for vice mayor once again in 2025, this time as the running mate of his father, who would run for mayor.^[39] Following the arrest of his father in March 2025, Duterte condemned the action as a political maneuver by the Marcos administration and even filed a petition with the Supreme Court alongside his siblings to seek the immediate release of their father, arguing the detention violated national sovereignty and due process.^[40][41]

Duterte was elected vice mayor in 2025. However, from the start of his term on June 30, 2025, he would serve as acting mayor while his father, Rodrigo Duterte, was yet to take his oath of office as the duly elected city mayor due to his detention at The Hague, Netherlands.^[42] In turn, his nephew, 1st district councilor Rodrigo "Rigo" Duterte II, would serve as the acting vice mayor.^[43]

On July 20, 2025, Duterte on his Basta Dabawenyo podcast challenged Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Nicolas Torre III, whom he feuded with in 2024^[44] and who led the March 2025 operation that arrested his father, to a fistfight after criticizing his three-minute response policy as an opportunity for police "harassment" in the city, with him calling Torre a kidnapper for the arrest and a "coward".^[45][46] Upon learning about the dare on July 23, Torre immediately accepted Duterte's challenge as an opportunity to hold a charity boxing match to raise funds for victims of recent floods.^[47][46] Torre confirmed that a charity boxing match would take place on July 27 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, but Duterte attempted to set conditions that Torre must persuade President Bongbong Marcos to mandate hair follicle drug tests for all elected officials before Duterte could participate.^[48] However, Duterte departed for Singapore on July 25 for a personal trip until July 29, stating it was long planned before the match and his travel clearance was approved by DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla on July 20.^[49][50] On July 27, Torre was declared the winner by default in the match after Duterte failed to show up.^[51]

On January 23, 2026, Duterte was sworn in as the permanent mayor of Davao City, following his father Rodrigo's failure to take the oath of office within the six-month prescribed period due to his detention at The Hague. By law of succession, the vice mayoralty was also declared vacant and subsequently filled by his nephew, Rigo.^[5] On the evening of April 11, 2026, Duterte was appointed the official party president of the PDP during its national council meeting in Santa Mesa, Manila, and a day later became the head of the Reform Alliance for Good Governance and Accountability (RAGE) coalition newly launched by the PDP.^[52] He succeeds Senator Robin Padilla, who had initially announced Duterte's official appointment as PDP president on Facebook.^[53]

His mayorship has been embroiled for its failure to mitigate and control deadly flood waters, despite the 13,917 flood control projects in Davao City and a ₱51 billion fund for the city's 1st district alone, the largest for any district in the country, provided by the national government to the city.^{[54] [55]} He has also been criticized for his absenteeism even during calamities and other crisis in Davao.^[56] During the Davao flooding in July 2026, Duterte was spotted partying in Ibiza, Spain,^{[57] [58]} while the illegal drug trade expanded in Davao City, where millions of pesos worth of illegal drugs have been discovered.^{[59][60][61][62]}