Baste Duterte now PDP Laban’s acting head after Robin Padilla’s leave

Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte (Photo from the official website of the City Government of Davao)

MANILA, Philippines — Sebastian “Baste” Duterte will serve as the acting head of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) Laban as Senator Robin Padilla takes leave from the party’s presidency.

According to the PDP Laban on Monday, Padilla is stepping back and will focus on his duties as a legislator in the 20th Congress.

READ: Duterte patriarch, sons, grandsons tighten grip on Davao City

“With this development, Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who is the PDP Laban executive vice president, will assume the party’s presidency based on the rule of succession in the party constitution,” the PDP Laban said in a statement.

Duterte was reelected as Davao City’s vice mayor in the May 2025 midterm elections.

“The senator also said that his role in the May 2025 polls demanded so much of his time and energy that he needed to take some time off from his responsibilities as head of the party,” the PDP Laban added.

However, the political organization said Padilla had assured members he would remain committed and loyal to the PDP Laban and its chairman, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

READ: Robin Padilla files resolution seeking to terminate Sara Duterte trial

As the Senate convened as an impeachment court last June 10, Padilla was among the 18 senators who voted to remand the Articles of Impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.

Padilla filed a resolution last June 9 seeking to dismiss the impeachment case against the vice president. /apl/abc