President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday has formally accepted the resignation of his son Paolo Duterte as vice mayor of Davao City, “effective immediately.”
In a letter to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and outgoing Interior Department officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the President has already accepted the resignation of his son from the elective post.
Sara Duterte, who was on leave Friday, previously said only her father could accept Paolo’s resignation.
That rule is in Section 82 of the Local Government Code of 1991, which says resignations by elective local officials shall be deemed effective only upon acceptance by the President, in the case of governors, vice governors, and mayors and vice mayors of highly urbanized cities and independent component cities such as Davao City.
Davao City 3rd District Councilor Bernard Al-ag, the current majority floor leader of the 18th City Council is poised to replace Paolo Duterte as vice mayor.
Meanwhile, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, majority leader for the House of Representatives’ contingent to Commission on Appointments, said the President’s decision to accept Paolo’s resignation “only proved that he trusted the judgment and respected the decision of his son, especially if it is for the good of his people.”
The President earlier said he would not be stopping his son “from doing what he thinks is right,” adding that Paolo might have been fed up already with all the recent issues hounding him.
On Christmas Day, the President’s son stepped down from his post, after a series of scandals hounded him and his family and threatened to cast a shadow over his father’s administration.
“When I was growing up, my parents never failed to remind me of the value of the time honored principles of ‘delicadeza’ [sense of propriety] and this is one of those instances in my life that I need to protect my honor and that of my children,” Paolo said in an emotional address during a special council session at the Davao City Hall.
Paolo said he took responsibility for all that has happened as a result of a “wrong decision” to marry at a very young age, referring to his marriage to Lovely Sangkola, with whom he has three children—Omar, Rodrigo II and Isabelle.
Recently, Paolo had a very public row with his teenage daughter Isabelle on social media, after she accused him on Twitter of beating up a childhood friend.
Paolo and the President’s son-in-law, lawyer Manases Carpio—the husband of Mayor Sara—were also dragged into P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China, after Customs fixer Mark Taguba implicated both men.
Taguba later apologized for dragging them into the mess.