Legal experts explain that, despite his arrest, no one challenged his eligibility to run for public office. The residents of Davao have shown absolute loyalty at the polls to 'The Punisher.' This was the nickname earned by Rodrigo Duterte for his over two decades as mayor of this Filipino city leading bloody campaigns against drug traffickers,

The results showed the Duterte clan's resilience, despite their many legal woes, and the weakening of the Marcos family, as well as an unexpected surge by a third, progressive 'pink' bloc, heirs to the Aquino dynasty.

EVEN as he is detained in The Hague for crimes against humanity, former president Rodrigo Duterte will still be proclaimed as mayor-elect of Davao City, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Voting was underway in the Philippines on Monday for a normally low-key midterm election that is showcasing an emotionally charged proxy battle between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and ally-turned-foe,