From the time Antonio Trillanes was turned down by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to be his running mate in the 2016 presidential elections, the ex-senator has harbored a deep grudge not only against Duterte but against the members of his family and close political allies.

Since then, he has joined a coterie of politicians who could not accept the fact that President Duterte, insultingly described by a public onanist as “the man from the boondocks,” was elected to the highest post in the land and left an unprecedented record of receiving the highest trust and approval ratings even after his incumbency. 

But Trillanes was not alone in denigrating President Duterte and his brand of leadership, which is a difficult act to follow — except for his children, among them Vice President Sara Duterte, who is the alpha in the family.  

Like Trillanes, Anakbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros cannot accept, by her own admission, another Duterte — meaning VP Sara — becoming president.  Then there is Leila de Lima and a bunch of leftist politicians who have bonded, dreading Sara’s rise up the totem pole of power. 

Moreover, Trillanes is one of a kind. He could come up with preposterous claims and issues.  Just recently, he came up with a fairy tale blaming the Duterte administration for the ghost and substandard flood control projects and the scandalous and unprecedented corruption in the bureaucracy.   

He then deduced that Duterte was behind the fire that hit the Department of Public Works and Highways recently. 

Then again, he went ballistic, declaring, strangely, that Davao City was the most dangerous place in the Philippines, in direct contravention of foreign-based surveys naming the city as the most peaceful and cleanest in the country, placing third in the category among Southeast Asian cities. 

Trillanes must be having sleepless nights now, for neither he nor his barkada in Congress and his propagandists can stop international rating institutions from releasing independent data.  

The World Travel Index 2025 has just named Davao City “The Best City to Visit in the Philippines.”

  Before Trillanes could open his mouth again, CEOWORLD magazine, the world’s most influential business publication trusted by over 12.4 million global readers — including CEOs, CFOs, senior executives, investors, and high-net-worth individuals — released its 2025 Safety Index ranking of 300 cities worldwide.  

Again, Davao City ranked first in the Philippines, placing 53rd. Other cities of the country that shared the limelight were Makati, 126th; Iloilo, 143rd; Cebu, 220th; and Manila, 295th.  (Abu Dhabi and three other cities in the Emirates made it to the top 10 in the Safety Index).

Trillanes and the likes of Hontiveros and Representatives De Lima and Percival Cendaña must be having nightmares on reading this incontrovertible data. 

This, plus the enviable fact that billions in new investments were recently recorded in Davao City, affirm its healthy investment climate.  

Whether they like it or not, the records speak and argue eloquently for Duterte’s brand of leadership.