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[text/observer network ruan jiaqi]

in june this year, sarah duterte, the vice president of the philippines and the daughter of former president duterte, withdrew from president marcos jr.'s cabinet. many people believed that the two major political families in the philippines parted ways. the duterte family wanted to seeking political comeback performance in the 2025 midterm elections. sarah has also said that her two brothers and her father plan to run for senate in 2025.

however, as the deadline for submission of election applications (october 8) approaches, duterte, who has announced his retirement from politics, has never clearly expressed his intention to run, triggering a lot of speculation. according to reports from the philippine "manila times", abs-cbn news network and others on the 6th, at a press conference held in a hotel in davao city on saturday night local time, duterte said that taking into account his age and physical health factors, he decided not to participate in a national campaign.

according to reports, duterte denied his daughter sarah’s statement, saying that she was just joking and that he had no plans to run for national office, especially a senate seat. he also claimed that he has "no intention" to return to politics because he has neither political capital nor sufficient funds after the end of the presidential term in 2022.

"do you think i can still carry out a national campaign at my age, or do you want me to die? i can't do it anymore." duterte, 79, told reporters, " i don’t think i’m qualified for (public office), let’s be realistic.”

however, after repeated questioning by the philippine media, duterte seemed to have loosened his stance on this issue. according to philippine media reports, after asking everyone which position he should run for and getting the answer "mayor", duterte said that if the public voice is strong, he will run for mayor of davao city again, and his son , the current mayor sebastian will run as a deputy mayor candidate with his partner.

before being elected president of the philippines in 2016, duterte was elected mayor of davao city seven times, serving a term of 22 years. "is this the voice of the public? (if so) ok, then we will run for mayor." he told the media.

when pressed on when he would submit his certificate of candidacy (coc), duterte simply replied, "you will know."

philippine gma tv reported that democratic people's power party chairman robin padilla had earlier said that the party was still waiting for duterte to make a decision before the october 8 application deadline to participate in 2025. midterm elections.

"as the chairman of the democratic people's power party, i personally hope that he will run. if not him, then one of his children (run)." padilla added that duterte was in "good health" and that he thinking that the former president still has the energy to perform the duties of the senate, "i believe he can do it. i even dream of him becoming the president of the senate."

the philippines' "daily inquirer" reported earlier that duterte, who announced his retirement from politics in 2022 due to "deep fatigue", was surprised by the news of his re-emergence. the philippine "politics" website analyzed that although duterte performed well in the polls, he may not run for the senate in 2025, "but will make a comeback in davao city."

davao city is the headquarters of the duterte family. since 1986, duterte has continued to work here and has been serving as mayor for more than 20 years. under duterte's governance, the security situation in davao city has been significantly improved, and he himself has gained high prestige and influence. after duterte was elected president in 2016, his daughter sara served as mayor of davao city until she was elected vice president in 2022. today, sarah’s brothers, sebastian, 36, the current mayor of davao city, and paul, 49, a member of davao city’s first district, continue to maintain the family’s influence in davao city.

"nikkei asian review" cited expert analysis and pointed out that the breakup of the duterte family and the marcos family, the two major political families in the philippines, will have a considerable impact on the philippines' mid-term election pattern in may 2025. the victory of any member of the duterte family in the election will further consolidate the family's influence and "threaten the administration of the current president marcos jr."

according to reports, the philippines will elect 12 senators, in addition to members of the house of representatives and local chief executives. the results of this series of elections will affect the political direction of the philippines. if the three members of the duterte family win the election, they could use their influence in the senate to block legislation or call for investigations into controversial policies.

at the same time, sarah also announced her intention to return to davao city, the family’s political stronghold, but she did not disclose the timetable for her return to the davao political arena. philippine media mentioned that if sarah returns to davao to run for mayor, she will also need to resign as vice president.

this article is an exclusive manuscript of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.