MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s eldest son quit as vice mayor of the southern city of Davao on Monday, citing his being linked to a drug smuggling case by opponents and personal problems from a failed marriage as reasons for the move.
Paolo Duterte announced his resignation during a special session of the Davao City Council. Davao is President Duterte´s hometown and its mayor is Paolo´s younger sister, Sara Duterte-Carpio. “There are recent unfortunate events in my life that are closely tied to my failed first marriage,” the vice mayor said, in a statement made available to media.
Paolo testified at a senate probe into a seized shipment of $125m worth of narcotics from China after opponents of the president, who has instigated a fierce crackdown on the drugs trade, said they believe his son may have helped ease the entry of the shipment at the port in Manila.