According to Bloomberg, Duterte's close confidant and fellow Philippine senator Bongo revealed that Duterte had submitted his candidacy for mayor of Davao on October 7.
This move is seen as a sign that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been dormant for a long time, will return to politics in a new capacity.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
Just two days ago, Duterte publicly responded to the election campaign, claiming that he has "no intention" to return to politics and has no intention of running for national office.
The "national campaign" he refers to here refers to the upcoming 2025 midterm elections in the Philippines, which are mainly for Senate seats, and if the Duterte family wins more seats in the Senate, it may affect Marcos's governance in the coming years.
Therefore, the Marcos family is very concerned about whether Duterte will run for the Senate seat, and after receiving a negative answer, they are also slightly relieved.
But that doesn't mean Marcos can rest easy, and even if Duterte doesn't run for national office, he can run for local office, like mayor of Davao City.
Duterte himself said that even at an advanced age, if the public voice is strong, he will consider running for mayor and continue to serve the public.
Philippine Congress
Perhaps in the current political arena, the Marcos family is more influential, but in Davao City, the stronghold of the Duterte family, Lao Du still has a lot of say.
Current Davao City Mayor Sebastian is Duterte's youngest son, while Davao City District 1 Councillor Paul is Duterte's eldest son, and former mayor and current Vice President Sarah is Duterte's second daughter.
Even Duterte himself has served as mayor of Davao City for more than 20 years, and even if he announced his retirement from politics, it will not affect the influence of the entire family in Davao City.
Now, Duterte has finally decided to return to politics and set his sights on the mayor of Davao City, which is a very safe and safe thing to do, relying on his family's influence and not causing too much alarm among the Marcos family.
After all, Lao Du is only running for mayor on his own turf, and he is not competing with Marcos for the presidency. But with the political prestige of the Duterte family, especially the old Du himself, Marcos is still very jealous of him.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
During his six years in power, Duterte has changed his predecessor's pro-American diplomatic style and pursued a pragmatic political line, advocating a peaceful settlement of differences in the South China Sea with China, so that the Philippines will not be involved in the fierce game between China and the United States.
At the same time, during the Duterte administration, it focused on developing economic and trade cooperation with China and strengthening domestic infrastructure construction, which also accumulated a high approval rating for himself.
Even in the final months of his term, his approval rating remained at 67 percent, making him the most popular president of the Philippines in 40 years.
Since Marcos took office more than two years ago, he immediately began to change the direction of the wind and strengthen the US-Philippine alliance, adding many obstacles to China-Philippines relations, which has attracted many criticisms from Duterte.
However, these pragmatic voices were not heard, and Marcos began to push Congress to investigate Duterte, and even deliberately excluded the current vice president, Sarah, from the inner circle of power.
Philippine Vice President Sarah talks to Marcos
This series of moves has put the contradictions between the two major families in the Philippines on the table. But what really determines victory or defeat is Marcos's performance in the field of domestic affairs, and if he cannot effectively solve the domestic economic problems, he may still be rejected by voters.