ACTING Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte lashed out at President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., accusing him of disrespecting his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Suko lang gyud ko kay Marcos, binuangan niya akoang igsoon pero sa personal nas akoa pero pulitika pod wala pod siyay pulos nga presidente (I’m really angry at Marcos because he disrespected my sibling. On a personal level, I feel affected. Even in politics, he’s a useless president),” he said during the ninth anniversary of the 2016 Roxas Night Market bombing on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
The remarks came months after Sara Duterte claimed last June 25 that impeachment moves against her were driven by Marcos’s desire to “perpetuate his or his family’s power.” In an interview with Russian network RT, she alleged the impeachment was part of the president’s scheme to weaken the Dutertes’ political influence.
Baste also criticized the Marcos administration for probing Davao City over alleged ghost flood-control projects, saying flooding does not even originate in the city. He urged Davaoeños to keep praying for the return of his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, to the city.
The acting mayor has long been critical of Marcos Jr. On his Basta Dabawenyo podcast last July 20, he called the administration “the most inefficient” he had ever seen.
“I don’t know why we should continue to tolerate this kind of administration. I think people, as your responsibility, as citizens of this country, should speak out. Huwag kayong [do not stop] titigil because something… it is not something, it is wrong,” he said during the Basta Dabawenyo Podcast, on July 20, 2025.
Earlier on March 16, 2025, Baste told thousands at San Pedro Square that Marcos Jr. would “never earn the people’s love.” He accused the president of lacking a conscience, citing how his father allowed Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, yet Marcos Jr. supported the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) move to arrest him.
Baste further mocked the president, saying that beyond his term, Marcos Jr. is “nothing” without government resources. RGP