Mayor Sara Duterte Runs for Vice President

The Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter has registered her candidacy for vice-president in next year’s elections and was chosen as the running mate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the late Filipino dictator, in an alliance that has alarmed human rights activists.

Sara Duterte backed out this week from her reelection bid as mayor of Davao City in the south, then took the place of a largely unknown vice-presidential candidate of her political party, Lakas CMD, in a move that allowed her to seek the second-highest post even after a deadline lapsed for candidates in the 9 May elections.

Sara Duterte, a 43-year-old mother of three and a lawyer like her father, has been a longtime mayor of Davao. The economically vibrant city is where the elder Duterte first carved a political name with his populist rhetoric and often bloody approach against criminality, especially the widespread trafficking and use of illegal drugs, before he rose to the presidency in 2016.

Duterte’s rule, which ends in June next year, became one of the most tumultuous and controversial in Philippine history, after Marcos. The ailing president, known for his brash rhetoric and expletive-laden outbursts against domestic critics, western leaders and even the pope, initially planned to run for vice-president.