Philippine Congress House Speaker

A classic battle between a father and son tandem and a father and daughter team is shaping up and is seen to heat up the electoral race in Davao City next year .

Vowing to stop the senseless summary executions that has turned Davao into a hotbed of human rights abuses, Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday formally launched his bid for mayor of the city by filing his certificate of candidacy indicating such an intention.

But the hard-nosed incumbent mayor of the city, Rodrigo Duterte, accused of having founded and maintaining a vigilante group in the city dubbed the Davao Death Squad (DDS), is not keen on giving up the post he has held for 21 years to politicians outside his family and is reportedly grooming his vice mayor-daughter, Sarah, to replace him as mayor.

Duterte himself is reportedly running for Congress in the elections next year as he, like Nograles, who represents the 1st District of Davao in Congress, are on their last terms in office.

Nograles’ son, Karlo, may face off with the mayor as he, too, is vying for his father’s seat in Congress.

Nograles and Duterte has had a long-running rift which has been stoked by the mayor’s recent order for a park in the city named after the Speaker’s late father to be torn down.

“This will be like the most anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. And since I am an ardent Pacquiao supporter, I’ll be the Pacquaio in this fight. Me and my son will give them a good fight,” the Speaker said.