DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Sebastian Duterte, President Rodrigo Duterte's third child with his former wife Elizabeth Zimmerman, decided to throw his hat into politics.
On Wednesday, October 17, 29-year old Sebastian filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the vice mayoralty race in Davao City.
Sebastian was accompanied by his sister, Mayor Sara Duterte, in filing his COC at the city Comelec Office.
He will be his sister's running mate under the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod-Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
Sara had earlier said Sebastian's candidacy had been decided upon as early as March but he always changed his mind.
While he was quite popular because of his good looks and his links to some celebrities, Sebastian also made a name for himself through his surfing activities and his being a rock music vocalist.
He also hosted a travel program on a major TV network, which only aired once. His Facebook page meanwhile had 487,876 followers as of Sunday and was liked by 486,612 people.
Plans for politics
Sebastian's plan for politics had been widely speculated about when he joined her sister's regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago in April.
At one point, he was rumored to be running for mayor of Danao City in Cebu, his grandfather Vicente's origin.
Suspicions were raised when Sebastian reportedly bought a property there.
In August, Sebastian hinted that he might eventually run. However, he said that his inclination was not really politics.
“I wanted to avoid it as much as possible because politics is troublesome.
This thought has kept him away from actual engagement in politics, he added.
“Of the three of us (Elizabeth's children), I was the only one who had no experience in politics except during the campaign for my father. It was the only exposure I got and I went back to what I usually do after that because it was not my cup of tea,” Sebastian said. – Rappler.com
