Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte delivers his State of the City Address before members of the city council at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Friday (28 July 2023). MindaNews file photo by MANMAN DEJETO
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 July) — Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte is not interested to join the senatorial race in May 2025, contrary to the recent pronouncement of his elder sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Wala na sa akong interes, wala na sa akong ambisyon, human ang akong kinabuhi naa diri sa Davao. Mao ni akong gusto, ganahan ko sa dagan… di man perpekto sa akong kinabuhi diri (I am not interested, that’s not my ambition. My life is here in Davao, this is what I prefer, and I am content with my life here),” Duterte said in his first Basta Dabawenyo talk show streamed through his Facebook page CM Baste Duterte.
The mayor made the pronouncement when the program host asked if his participation in the Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rallies “bring clamor for his potential senatorial bid in the 2025 mid-term national elections.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte has been leading the Maisug rallies held in the different parts of the country, first conducted at the San Pedro Square in the city last January. The rallies oppose changing the 1987 Constitution through the people’s initiative and criticize the alleged corruption and abuses of the Marcos Jr. administration.
In a media interview in Cagayan de Oro City on June 25, Vice President Duterte claimed the Duterte patriarch and her brothers Paolo (Davao City 1st District representative) and Sebastian are “raring to run” for senator in 2025.
“Lahat sila raring na tumakbo eh. Si PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) senator, ‘yung kuya ko si Paolo Duterte, ‘yung congressman ngayon, senator. Si Sebastian Duterte, senator (They are all raring to run. PRRD will run as senator, my elder brother Paolo Duterte will run as senator, Sebastian Duterte will run as senator),” the Vice President said.
“Tatlo ang Duterte next year… yes, confirmed ‘yan (Three Dutertes next year, that’s confirmed),” she added.
Sara said that Sebastian, commonly known as “Baste,” may even run for President in 2028.
However, Sebastian downplayed the possibility of him running for higher positions in the future during the talk show.
He stressed that working in Manila “can be exhausting, and people there are plastic and transactional.” “Plastic” is a term used colloquially to describe a person who is insincere or fake.
The city mayor said he wants everyone “to listen to what he h
as to say and judge the correctness of his speech or arguments.”
Last March 11, Sebastian told several bloggers that “wala talaga, ayaw ko” (I really don’t want it), referring to running for a Senate seat. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
