In Full Control

Using his unmatched political savvy, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has kept the City Council under his thumb.

By Germelina Lacorte
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY � A few months ago, war erupted at the City Council. It was between a large group of people identified with Mayor Rodrigo Duterte against a smaller group of people identified with Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte was not pitting these people against each other. It was just that these feuding groups were dying to please him.

But far from undermining Duterte’s influence on the City Council, the feud only tightened his hold on it. This display of power over the legislative branch has once again highlighted the reality that, in this city, Duterte is in full control.

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