PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, whose family has held political power in Davao City for more than three decades, joked about the Cayetano "political dynasty" in Taguig City, Metro Manila as well as his own.

Duterte made the joke when he introduced them during the launching of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) mobile platform called 911 TESDA in Taguig City on Tuesday, July 30.

"House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his lovely wife, [Representative Lani Cayetano], and Lino, the Taguig mayor, kailan kaya matapos ang dynasty ninyo (when will your dynasty end?" the President said in jest.

Alan Peter and his wife, Lani, were proclaimed representatives of Taguig City First and Second Districts, respectively, during the May 13, 2019 midterm elections.

Alan Peter was also elected House Speaker at the opening of the 18th Congress on July 22.

The Cayetano couple's bid for a seat at the House of Representatives was met with criticisms and strong opposition.

A petition seeking the cancellation of the couple's certificates of candidacy was filed before the Commission on Elections, but the poll body junked the disqualification case on May 6.

Meantime, Cayetano's brother and film director Lino Cayetano was elected mayor of Taguig City.

Cayetano's sister, Pia, also won as senator after placing fourth with 19.78 million votes.

In his speech, Duterte acknowledged that even three of his children also occupy government posts.

The President's daughter, Sara "Inday" Duterte-Carpio, was re-elected mayor of Davao City, while his youngest son, Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, won the vice mayoralty race.

The President's eldest son, Paolo "Pulong" Duterte, was proclaimed representative of Davao City First District and was also elected as Deputy Speaker.

"Well, you can ask the same question safely with me. 'Yung mayor, si Inday. The vice mayor, si Baste. Bilib na ako ngayon. May haircut na. At walang ginawa 'yun sa buhay niya kung hindi babae. Ngayon, he worries about the public interest. And that is [why] I'm grateful to God," the President said.

(Well, you can ask the same question safely with me. Inday is mayor, while Baste is the vice mayor. I am impressed with him now. He has the proper haircut now. Before, he was a womanizer. Now, he worries about the public interest. And that is [why] I'm grateful to God.)

"Iyang si Pulong... Pero you can be very sure 'yung maano ito, si Inday pati si... Inday is okay iyan. Si Sebastian. Si Pulong, hindi ko na nakikita. Papalit palit ng partido. NU... Ano 'yun? Sabagay, mag-NPA (New People's Army) na lang siya, mas mabuti pa," he added.

(Pulong is... But you can be very sure that Inday is good, and even Sebastian. I haven't seen Pulong in the past few days. He's been going to different political parties. NU... What is that? Well, it's better if he joins the NPA.)

On June 23, Duterte confessed that he felt embarrassed when people talk about political dynasties, but stressed that political families remain in power because voters prefer to vote for members of these dynasties. (SunStar Philippines)