When the Philippines voted on Monday, Sara Duterte’s name was not on the ballot.
But the results of the election, which includes 12 senate races, impacts her political future.
It affects both her role as the Philippines’ current vice-president and any hopes she might have of running for the country’s presidency one day, as she faces the prospect of a ban from politics – decided by lawmakers in the Senate.
The 46-year-old is the eldest daughter of the Philippines’ former President Rodrigo Duterte. She trained as a lawyer before entering politics in 2007, when she was elected as her father’s vice-mayor in their family’s hometown Davao.
Rodrigo Duterte has described her as the “alpha” character of the family, who always gets her way.
The younger Duterte was filmed in 2011 punching a court official in the face after he refused her request, leading one local news outlet to bestow the nickname of “the slugger” upon her.
She and her father are known to share similar traits, as well as a passion for riding big motorbikes.
Sara is said to be her father’s favourite child, though she has also said they share a “love-hate relationship”.
One cable from the US embassy in Manila in 2009, leaked by Wikileaks, described her as “a tough-minded individual who, like her father, is difficult to engage”.
Born in 1978, Sara is Rodrigo Duterte’s second child with his first wife, flight attendant Elizabeth Zimmerman.
In 1999 she graduated with a major in BS Respiratory Therapy. During her inauguration as vice-president in 2022, she said that in her youth she was “consumed by a dream to become a doctor” but was “directed toward another way”.
In 2005 she graduated with a law degree and passed the Philippine Bar Examination. But it wasn’t long before her father expressed his wish for her to enter politics as his running mate in mayoral elections – hoping that if and when he ran for president, Sara would help protect his mayoral legacy.
Rodrigo would only go ahead with his presidential bid once Sara had agreed to succeed him as mayor of Davao – and in 2010, at 32, she succeeded her father to become the city’s first female mayor.
In response to many people’s apparent confusion as to how they should address her, Sara Duterte ended her inaugural address with a specific appeal: “call me Inday Sara”.
“Inday”, an honorific in the south, means a respected elder woman. It also played into the Duterte’s optics: of a family from the regional south facing off against imperial Manila.
In Manila, “inday” was previously used to refer to house help from the south – but Sara reclaimed the term. Now even her father calls her by that name.
It was in 2021 that Sara decided to make her way to national politics.
The next year she ran on a joint ticket with the scion of another political dynasty – Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He was going for the top job, with Duterte as his deputy.
The assumption was that she would then be in a prime position to contest the next presidential election in 2028, as presidents are limited only to one six-year term in the Philippines.
The strategy proved effective and the duo won by a landslide. But then it quickly started to unravel.
Cracks started to emerge in their alliance even before the euphoria of their election win faded.
Duterte publicly expressed her preference to be defence secretary but she was instead handed the education portfolio.
The House of Representatives soon after scrutinised Duterte’s request for confidential funds – millions of pesos that she could spend without stringent documentation.
Then, Rodrigo Duterte spoke at a late night rally, accusing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos of being a junkie and a weak leader.
Soon after, First Lady Liza Marcos snubbed Sara Duterte at an event, in full view of news cameras. She admitted that it was intentional, saying Duterte should not have stayed silent in the background while her father accused the president of drug use.
After Duterte resigned from the cabinet in July last year, her language became increasingly inflammatory.
She said she had “talked to someone” to “go kill” Marcos, his wife and his cousin, who is also the speaker of the House. She also told reporters her relationship with Marcos had become toxic and she dreamed of cutting off his head.
Such remarks are shocking for someone who is not acquainted with Philippine politics. But Duterte’s strong personality has only endeared her to the public and she remains popular in the south, as well as among the millions of overseas Filipino workers.
But in February this year, lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted to impeach Duterte, accusing her of misusing public funds and threatening to have President Marcos assassinated.
She will be tried by the Senate and, if found guilty, removed from office and banned from running in future elections.
Duterte has denied the charges and alleges she is the victim of a political vendetta.
Another blow came in March when her father was arrested and extradited to the Hague over the thousands of killings during his war on drugs. She then flew to the Netherlands to meet him while he was in custody.
He is still in jail, awaiting trial, but has been elected mayor of Davao in one of several local races that also took place on Monday.
Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest was a big part of his daughter’s campaign for her senate picks, with Sara and the candidates often chanting “bring him home”.
Those candidates included two key family loyalists who look set to win their seats, according to early, partial results.
This would be an important victory for Sara, because the composition of the house determines whether or not she will be impeached.
For her to be impeached, two-thirds of the Senate would need to vote for it.
But Monday’s results, which include some surprise wins, make it harder to predict the outcome of the trial.
For now, Sara Duterte’s fate hangs in the balance.
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By BBC News
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