Mindanao, Visayas rallies greet Duterte
As of 4 pm on March 28, 2025, an estimated 10,000 crowd occupied four road intersections near Davao City’s Freedom Park. Organizers expected more people to come as the air started to cool towards nighttime. GERMELINA LACORTE
DAVAO CITY—Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte again came out in a show of force on Friday for their beleaguered leader, who turned 80 as a detainee at The Hague while his name remained on the ballot as a mayoral candidate here.
From about 10,000 people at 4 p.m., the crowd size had swelled to 60,000 by 7 p.m., according to Davao police estimates. They occupied four intersecting roads at Freedom Park to mark the ex-president’s birthday, demanding his return to the country.
They mostly came in green shirts with prints that read “Bring him home” and “We stand by FPRRD (former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte),” referring to the celebrant who served as the city’s mayor for 22 years before becoming President in 2016.
Downtown streets were closed to vehicle traffic while in-person classes from kindergarten to high school were suspended in anticipation of a massive turnout.
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Quiet start
As Duterte’s birthday and the rally coincided with the start of the local campaign season for the May 12 elections, Duterte’s main rival Karlo Nograles only issued a statement and did not hold any public kick-off event.
“Voters will be at the center of our campaign. We will work to make sure every Davaoeño knows what we stand for, what our plans are and how we intend to move Davao City forward,” he said.
Nograles earlier served as Cabinet secretary and later Civil Service Commission chair during the Duterte presidency.
In the statement, Nograles said he owed “it to the electorate to present (his) vision clearly—and that means reaching as many voters as possible.”
“We respect the voters of Davao City and whether through rallies, town hall gatherings or modern digital platforms, we will make full use of every tool to ensure we are accessible to all and that our message is clear,” Nograles said.
Braving downpour
There was no immediate reply when the Inquirer asked him about his campaign plans. The city’s first district is considered the bailiwick of the Nograleses, who had not held a big rally for some time and mainly did house-to-house campaigning in the last elections.
In Kidapawan City, an estimated 3,000 people joined the prayer rally for Duterte’s 80th birthday, braving a heavy downpour.
They occupied a 500-meter stretch of the highway, disrupting traffic. Pine trees lining the road were adorned with red ribbons and marked: “Bring PRRD home.”
Similar rallies were held in the towns of Matalam, Mlang and Arakan in Cotabato province.
In Pagadian City, an estimated 2,000 Duterte supporters also turned up for a march and motorcade despite the rain.
Same in Cagayan de Oro City, where they gathered for a “solidarity rally” on Rio de Oro Boulevard, mainly led by Councilor Girlie Balaba.
Visayas rallies
In the Visayas, pro-Duterte crowds also gathered en masse in Bohol and Cebu provinces for his 80th birthday.
Salvio Makinano, one of the organizers in Bohol, said “interfaith rallies” were held in the towns of Tagbilaran, Calape, Talibon, Carmen, Alicia and Jagna.
The participants came in white and green shirts, holding Philippine flags, green ribbons, balloons and streamers with birthday greetings.
One of them Hazel Panlita, a 44-year-old mother and sales agent, said “I really wanted to be part of this rarest and most special event because I want to express my (feelings) as a Filipino deprived of justice.’’
She spoke of the “injustice and betrayal (committed) by the current President against our previous president, the president we longed wanted to rule, the only leader with an iron fist.”
Panlita was among 3,000 people who gathered at Plaza Rizal in Tagbilaran for Duterte’s birthday.
In Cebu, the rally was held at Pasilong sa Paraiso in Mandaue City, where an eight-layer cake for Duterte was prepared by the organizers led by the group Hakbang ng Maisug.
Gwen still ‘grateful’
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who is seeking reelection, said that while she may now be supporting the Marcos administration, she still “knows how to look and be grateful” to Duterte.
Speaking to reporters on Friday during a campaign sortie in Sibungan town, she recalled that the ex-president endorsed her when she ran again for governor in 2019.
Duterte now endorses Garcia’s opponent, Pamela Baricuatro, in the gubernatorial race. —WITH REPORTS FROM WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA, LEAH AGONOY, RYAN ROSAURO, LEO UDTOHAN AND NESTLE SEMILLA-DAKAY
