PHFormer Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at The Hague over his drug war that killed thousands, has been elected mayor of his family's stronghold, according to early, partial results.
Two of his most loyal aides - long-time assistant Christopher "Bong" Go and Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, the one-time police chief in charge of enforcing his drug war - have been re-elected to the country's senate.
The fate of Duterte's daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, remains in the balance as counting continues.
Sara Duterte - who is widely expected to run for president in 2028 - is facing the prospect of a ban from politics should a jury made up of the country's senate vote to impeach her.
It meant the midterms - which saw 18,000 seats contested, from local officials to governors and senators - became a proxy war between her supporters and her one-time ally, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Candidates supporting either dynasty went head-to-head, with Duterte's camp seeking the nine senate votes she needs to avoid impeachment.
Marcos Jr's endorsements appear to not have worked as predicted by opinion polls - only one of his candidates, broadcaster Erwin Tulfo, made the top five in the unofficial count.
The rest of the top five was made up of the two Duterte aides and two independents while there is a tight race for the rest of the winning circle of 12.
Instead, the seats appear to have gone to independents.
Results so far show the Duterte's have managed to retain their powerbase in the south of the country - just two months after the 80-year-old populist leader was arrested at Manila Airport and flown to the Netherlands on the same day to face the International Criminal Court.
It was his arrest - approved by Marcos Jr - which pushed the rivalry between his daughter and the current president to boiling point, a few weeks after the president's allies in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice-President Duterte.
Duterte's name remained on the ballot as he has not been convicted of any crime. He beat the scion of a smaller rival political family.
Credits: Joel Guinto
