MINDANAO – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte is bequeathing his thrown throne (thanks for pointing out this typo, Sir Mike! Ayayay!) And his daughter, Davao City Vice Mayor Sara “Inday Sara” Duterte is, naturally, next in line.

Recently, I was  in my hometown Davao City for a Philippine Councilors League gig. The boys provided the live band entertainment the night the closing ceremonies was held (June 27 at Grand Regal Hotel Ballroom, Lanang) and there were roughly a thousand councilors from all over the Philippines present. The night’s guest speaker was no other than Inday Sara.

Actually, while the boys and I were waiting for the program to begin, you could hear the buzz. A lot of councilors were curious about her — how she looked like (how come she didn’t look like her father? asked a councilor), if she was as “astig” as her dad, if she had the makings of a mayor. Mindanaoan councilors talked about her and shared their thoughts about her (she’s half-German that’s why she’s “maputi” and she used to be “bugay” and didn’t invite many people to her wedding). Amid the pieces of trivia, Vice Mayor Duterte would still be happy to know that most of the words used to describe her were positive.

So of course that piqued my curiosity. Was the young Sara, who’s also a lawyer, ready to govern my beloved hometown? Does she have what it takes to keep Davao City as alive and as booming as it is right now? Would she be able to keep Davao City’s image as a business friendly and safe community? Can she make good decisions on her own? Or would she still rely on her father, who’s supposedly keen on running as her vice mayor next year?

During her speech, Sara, who was declared by a Davao City councilor as “the next mayor of Davao City,” sounded so passionate about Davao. She described Davao complete with statistics to boot.

Although it wasn’t the first time I heard her speak, it was the first time that I noticed the slight quiver in her voice…most probably because she had so many things to say about my hometown and she was aware that she only had a few minutes to catch the councilors’ full attention.

Not to mention she only had a few minutes to prove to the councilors that she could do a good job as her father’s successor, too, and that she indeed had the makings of being “the next Davao City mayor.”

Still, despite her noticeably shaky voice, Inday Sara Duterte charmed her way to the hearts of the councilors that night. It also helped that she came in with a big smile and confirmed that yes, she didn’t look much like her dad because her mother was German and that yes, she was “bugay.”

Some of my earlier questions got answered after listening to her. I’m not too sure if the councilors got the answers they needed, though. I’m not too sure if they left Davao armed with more answers rather than questions.

I know one thing for certain, though. Next year’s elections in Davao City will be very interesting and Sara Duterte will be one person to watch out for.

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