A knockout idea? Philippines police chief accepts boxing challenge from Duterte’s son

General Torre said he had booked a stadium to fight Sebastian Duterte and ‘it’s up to him whether he shows up or not’

Philippine National Police chief General Nicolas Torre III has accepted a challenge to a fist-fight from the son of former president Rodrigo Duterte, proposing that the clash be held this weekend as a charity event to raise funds for typhoon and flood victims.

The dramatic exchange, which has captivated Filipinos online, is the latest escalation in an increasingly personal feud between the Duterte family and the country’s top police officer.

Tensions have simmered since Torre oversaw the March 11 arrest and transfer of former president Duterte to The Hague, where he awaits trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

But the conflict burst into public view on Sunday when Sebastian “Baste” Duterte – the acting mayor of Davao City and youngest son of the ex-president – challenged Torre to step down from his post and fight him man-to-man.

“You want to harass me? Go ahead,” the younger Duterte, 37, said during a podcast on Sunday. “You’re only brave because you have the position. But in a fist-fight, I can take you on. It’s that simple … You’re a coward, you’re nothing without your position sa totoo lang (in truth).”

Told about the challenge on Wednesday, the 55-year-old Torre immediately accepted, telling reporters the fight could be put to good use. “Perfect, there have been many victims of the typhoon and floods. Maybe we can use this opportunity to raise funds in a charity boxing match.”

He suggested the fight be held on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila. “At least the mayor and I can help our fellow citizens in distress. I’m sure many people will watch.” As of Thursday, there has been no response from Sebastian.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, himself once a national police chief, weighed in with a social media post early on Thursday, saying a “credible source” had told him “the CEO of a popular resort casino hotel” offered their ballroom for the charity match.

“For the sake of the many poor flood victims, let’s do it!”, the senator exhorted.

Torre has not wasted time. An Inquirer social media video on Thursday showed the police chief sparring with a trainer and punching the bag in the gym of the central police headquarters in Camp Crame.

The Duterte family’s history of violent outbursts – both rhetorical and physical – has been widely documented.

Rodrigo Duterte, who is in pre-trial detention at the ICC, was known for issuing blood-curdling threats while in office. He once said he would behead former president Benigno Aquino III and throw a grenade at the ICC. He also publicly ordered soldiers to shoot female communist rebels in the vagina.

His children have shown similar behaviour. Last year, then-vice president Sara Duterte was impeached after saying in a vlog that she had hired a hitman to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, his wife and cousin. A month earlier, she had told reporters she once fantasised about beheading the president.

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Several months ago, Torre recounted to the press how, when he arrested Rodrigo Duterte on March 11, the former president threatened him.

“[He] reminded me that I will eventually retire and his children and relatives will file charges against me after my retirement, and even before my retirement,” he said. “But everything is OK. My skin is thick and I can handle that.”

Earl Parreño, author of an unauthorised biography of Rodrigo Duterte, told This Week in Asia that the former president had once been diagnosed with an “aggressive form of narcissistic personality disorder – and its manifestations are similar to those of Sebastian now”.

Like their patriarch, members of the Duterte family are just as aggressive.

This May, a businessman filed a case against Rodrigo’s son Paolo, a congressman, for beating him up and threatening to stab him in a Davao bar. A video, allegedly of the incident, went viral.

In another video, Sara Duterte is reportedly seen beating up a sheriff over the demolition of shanties in 2011, when she was Davao mayor. This May, another daughter, Kitty, hit a policeman with her mobile phone over the arrest of her father.

According to Parreño, “you could say that behaviour is a Duterte trademark, maybe it’s in their DNA”.

The biographer said that one manifestation of the disorder was that the subject “sometimes becomes violent when they think their victim is easy”, but “if they see they’re disadvantaged or their challenge is accepted, they suddenly back out”.

In 2003, when he was mayor of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte challenged journalist Waldy Carbonell – who was investigating a radio broadcaster’s murder – to a duel near city hall. Carbonell turned up, but Duterte did not.

On Thursday, Torre told reporters he had already booked Rizal Coliseum for 9am on Sunday.

“It’s up to him whether he shows up or not”, Torre said, noting that sponsors had already donated relief goods.“If he doesn’t show up we’ll just proceed with distributing the aid.”

Sebastian Duterte might have understandable reasons for getting cold feet. “Baste doesn’t know that Torre was in the boxing squad in the police academy,” Parreño told This Week in Asia.