VICE MAYOR. Councilor Bernard Al-ag takes oath as the new Davao City Vice Mayor on January 10, 2017, replacing Presidential son Paolo Duterte who resigned in December last year. (Mara Genotiva / davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Councilor Bernard Al-ag formally assumed as Davao City vice mayor on Wednesday, January 10, replacing Presidential son Paolo Duterte who resigned in December last year.
Al-ag took his oath before Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday afternoon, an event witnessed by his family and officials from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
As the new vice mayor, Al-ag will be presiding the sessions at the City Council, a responsibility left by the President’s son.
Duterte, also known as Pulong, announced on December 25 last year, that he would be resigning out of “delicadeza.” He was doing so in response to controversies that mired his name, including the alleged smuggling at the Bureau of Customs and his public spat with his daughter.
Meanwhile, Al-ag said he will be continuing to support Mayor Duterte-Carpio through legislative action with his new position.
“I don’t consider this as a springboard to any position,” he said, “but I consider this as a disruption of my plan.”
In previous interviews, the third district councilor said he wanted to return to his private life after his term ends in 2019.
Al-ag ran under President Duterte’s party Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod in the local elections in 2016.
During the oath taking, Mayor Duterte-Carpio cited a provision of the Local Government Code which supports the basis of putting Al-ag into a higher position.
The councilor, who is also a licensed optometrist, ranked the highest in terms of percentage votes in the previous local elections.
Section 44 of the Local Government Code states that the highest ranking councilor “based on the basis on the proportion of votes obtained by each winning candidate to the total number of registered voters in each district” is eligible to become the vice-mayor. (davaotoday.com)
