He not only landed No. 1 in the senate race. He has also joined the stampeding bandwagon of creating the most insurmountable barrier to equitable democratic representation – dynasties.
Bong Go is now ensured of his political heir – his son. Christian Lawrence “Chrence” Go is now the new vice mayor of Lupon town in Davao Oriental province. On the surface, like many dynastic scions, Chrence Go is not bad. He graduated summa cum laude from De La Salle University. In the 2019 national licensure exams for Certified Public Accountants (CPA), he placed third.
That’s not all. After graduation from De La Salle, the young Go then studied law at Ateneo de Manila University. He took the bar exams in 2024 and passed.
These credentials are important to dynasties. Diplomas give them the aura of high qualifications. It provides them an edge over political competitors. It ordains them as members of the country’s de facto aristocracy. It is an aristocracy that is imagined because dynasties are not supposed to exist.
The new Go dynasty, however, will not be based in Davao city. On election day 2025, Chrence and his father the senator voted together in the same precinct in San Jose Elementary School in San Jose, Lupon, Davao Oriental.
For someone identified as the political son of Rodrigo Duterte, it is rather weird that Go has transferred his voting residence to Davao Oriental province. What made him leave Davao city?
In Davao city, political observers tried to make sense of the Bong Go move. And the most prominent theory behind it is the perceived coldness between Go and the three Duterte children. The three are not exactly friendly to Go whom the children are said to perceive as belonging to the opposing Honeylet Avanceña side of the broken family.
As early as during the time of the Duterte presidency, those perceptions have already surfaced. In August 2021, Sara Duterte publicly revealed that her father the president had asked her to choose to sign either of two letters. One letter asked her to endorse a Go-for-president–Rodrigo-Duterte-for-vice-president tandem. The other letter suggested that in the event she decides to run for president, she would take in Go as her vice president. Sara refused both letters.
Sara’s words were typical of her vitriol, directed against her father and Go: “I refuse to be a political punching bag for a party in complete disarray.”
Last year 2024, Baste Duterte made a public criticism of Go who had not attended the so-called Maisug Rallies. The rallies were the brainchild of Duterte political strategist Leoncio Evasco. Under the Duterte presidency, Evasco had later resigned from Malacañang after being at odds with Go.
Baste’s public criticism was piercing: “Ikaw Bong Go, you are my kumpare. If I knew it would come to this, I would have not voted for you.” Go was quiet over the breakdown of the Marcos-Duterte Uniteam. The children expected Go to defend Sara. He did not.
Go’s transfer to Lupon, Davao Oriental is seen as his break from the Duterte children and their heirs, now numbering five in political power. With Go’s higher ambitions, his chances of having the city as his baluarte are dim. It will always be in the hands of the Duterte children.
His influence on the family, if any, will soon be on the way out. With Duterte in The Hague and his chances of conviction very high, the old man will just die in the ICC Detention Center sooner or later. Once Duterte is gone forever, Go will not have any voice on the children’s political careers. Worse, they can very well stymie his political ambitions and cut him down to size.
Davao Oriental is his most open entry to establish his own dynasty. His Go roots go all the way to the town of Lupon where his migrant Chinese grandfather first settled. The Gos still maintain their old house there. He continues to have family elsewhere in the province. One niece, Angel Go, was elected municipal mayor of San Isidro town.
Davao Oriental will provide him the network to build a dynasty. Not Davao de Oro (Gonzaga family). Not Davao del Sur (Cagas family). Not Davao Occidental (Bautista family). Not Davao del Norte where the winning dynasty had the support of the Marcos family.
Insiders say the plan to enlist the son Chrence had the blessings in fact of the province’s political leaders. Chrence was supposed to run as vice governor to Nelson Dayanghirang. There was a problem though. The Marcos-Romualdez machinery was supporting Dayanghirang and his son who ran for congressman of the first legislative district. If he took in the young Go as his vice gubernatorial bet, the campaign funding would have been taken back, spelling his doom.
It was said that this was the fate of the Gonzaga dynasty in neighboring Davao de Oro. Ruwel Gonzaga lost as governor. Only his wife Dorothy won as vice governor. The budget from Manila was said to have been withdrawn.
That was the reason why Chrence Go was made to run as vice mayor of Lupon. It was in form and function, a transactional maneuver. The young Go ran as an independent and received more votes than the winning candidate for mayor. And that added star that dynasts love to project – he ran “unopposed.” From practice, however, that may not be entirely true. The modus is to pay those planning to run in exchange for not filing their candidacy.
After his next 6-year term in the 20th senate, Bong Go may train his sights on higher office or run for the House representing his new province. Why not – he has the burning ambition now after landing No. 1, he has the right ingredients for dirty traditional politics, a name recall that was manufactured from Malasakit Center photo ops, the principles of Dutertismo extrajudicial killings that many look up to as the right antidote to crime even if the statistics say otherwise. And then he now has a dynasty that will propel him to soar even higher.
Chrence Go can also be his guarantee for Go dynastic perpetuation. Once Bong Go is ordered arrested by the ICC, he too will languish in jail in The Hague. Next to Rodrigo Duterte, he was the most mentioned in the Arturo Lascañas Affidavit.
In the Philippines, every political tale behind dynasties is always a tragedy to democracy.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
