Into the heart & soul of Baste Duterte

At first glance, Sebastian Duterte, the 28-year-old son of President Rodrigo Duterte, would appear shy, snobbish and self-effacing. But a few more minutes of warming up with him would reveal his soul. He would regale you with his honesty and sincerity your day with him would be as easy as a Sunday morning.

He — and his cool, ruggedly  handsome presence — began to hog the limelight when he decided to campaign for his father in the recent presidential race. “I was just there because I wanted to help him in the campaign and I wanted to defend him from what people were going to say,” he says.

He looks up to his father with the keenness of a son whose many life lessons were learned from the latter. “The greatest of all the lessons I learned from him is humility. My father is a humble man. He means well.”

Baste, as he is known by everyone, describes his relationship with his father as “normal,” “typical,” “walang problema.” He lets go of a big smile when he talks about his childhood. “Kapag may kasalanan ka, may punishment. If you do something good, you have a reward. Bihira lang yung reward. Di ko na maalala. Usual punishment ay sinturon. Pinapalo nang nakadapa, minsan nakatayo. Lahat yata ng posisyon ng pagsinturon naranasan ko na sa tatay ko.”

That “Du30” is a disciplinarian was revealed by his own admonition to his son Baste to take his schooling seriously. “When I was a child, every time I got back from school, he forced me to read my books. For an hour dapat nasa lamesa lang ako at nakatutok sa libro. Hindi pwede lumingon sa taas. He didn’t care if I read or not basta yung mata ko nasa libro.”

“But I have many happy moments with my father. He’s a very sweet guy,” he says. When his father found out that Baste was borrowing the motorbike of his neighbor, the elder Duterte bought his son a Yamaha 50cc. Baste was 12 then. A year before that, his parents separated.

“I was 11, in Grade 5, when my parents separated. Napunta ‘ko sa nanay ko. After two years, yung nanay ko lumipad ng States and worked as a nanny. So ako lang yung naiwan sa bahay. Mga first year high school ako noon. Tapos kinuha ako ng tatay ko. I stayed with him for three months. Di kami magkasundo kasi lagi din siya wala sa bahay. Makulit ako. Di kami magkasundo. So he sent me to Manila to live with my sister (now Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte) who was taking up Law that time in San Beda College. I was in San Beda from second year high school to first year college (Legal Management),” Baste says. Then he took up Medical Technology before shifting to Political Science at the Ateneo de Davao University.

“I took up Law for two months. Hindi ko nagustuhan. Maybe that’s the freedom that I want. When I try things and I don’t like it, I just go out of it,” he says.

Before becoming the Chief Executive of the land, Baste’s father was mayor of Davao City for 28 years. His sister Sara is now the mayor of Davao City; his brother Paolo, vice mayor. Did Baste consider entering politics, too?

“My dad wanted me to run for councilor in Davao in 2013. In 2016, he asked if I would want to run for Congress. Ayaw ko naman. I don’t want to sit in an office the entire day listening to other people’s problems. I have a lot of better things to do. The idea of serving people is okay but at this point in my life, ayaw ko talaga. I want to enjoy my life that’s why I do everything that I want. I just want to be happy. I want to do things that make me happy. Freedom. The freedom to choose what I want,” he says.

The separation of his parents introduced him to freedom and to his own brand of independence. “I do not have to consider other people around me before I do anything. I just do everything that I want. I only have to decide for myself.” So, at 16, he got his first tattoo, a scorpion, because of his Zodiac sign (he was born on Nov. 3, 1987). He has eight tattoos all over his body. The last one, an image of a demon, he got last year. He also had his lower lip pierced last year. He has a sungki (crooked) tooth and did not heed his Inday Sara’s advice to wear braces. “It’s God-given, why will I change it?” he argues.

In Davao City where the law of his father is writ in stone, Baste is not exempted from being accosted by the authorities. “I was accosted three times — for over speeding and smoking in places where it is not allowed.”

Does he smoke in front of his father? “No. Baka mamatay ako.”

What makes Baste happy? “Surfing,” he says. (At the time of Baste’s interview for The STAR and PeopleAsia, the presidential son had been in Manila for three days. He was supposed to stay another night but begged off and booked a flight that night to Siargao to surf. He’s not fond of flying because he gets paranoid when he’s riding a plane. “I have been here in Manila for three days and every time I wake up, I see concrete buildings. Hindi ko na kaya. Masisiraan ako ng ulo,” he says.)

He likes nature. He has scaled Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, 14 times. He’s not a coffee drinker but favors boiling tea leaves. He rarely watches the TV and can go on for days without checking his Facebook and Instagram accounts. “Maybe, Facebook lang. To look for chicks,” he laughs. He likes to tell a joke.

He also likes to stick to his honest thoughts. “Hindi kami mayaman. Tingnan mo naman ang hitsura ko,” he says, pointing to his board shorts and black shirt. “I don’t have friends in the upper class. Not even in the middle class. Pero hindi naman kami nawalan ng pera.”

In Davao, he has a junk shop, hauling from malls in Davao City. “When I was a child, I grew up in Taal, far from the city. Maraming squatters, so every time I went out, sila yung kaibigan ko. Tapos nagbobote-dyaryo sila.  I had to join them kasi wala akong kalaro. That’s how I spent my childhood. Noong nagkaanak ako noong college, I was 22 years old, wala naman akong ibang alam. I wasn’t good in school. I’m bad in Math. Alam ko lang was my experience noong maliit pa ako. It’s so easy to pick up trash, recycle it and sell it to others. Every day may basura, so it’s easy and practical,” says Baste, who has a five-year-old daughter named Yulia and a one-year-old son named Yair, both from different mothers. He has a live-in girlfriend who is an “introvert like me” and “is into painting and sculpture.”

Baste’s happiness can be gleaned from his penchant for music. He put up a band in Davao City where he was the vocalist. He also plays the drums and the guitar. Once, his band played before Du30 in a Kadayawan festival. Did his father like his performance? “Sabi niya ang ingay daw, puro sigaw. Tinanong niya ako bakit puro sigaw. Tumahimik na lang ako.”

Baste knows it will take him a long while to get used to the adulation of the public. He does not like to live in Malacañang. Not because there are ghosts in Malacañang, according to Du30 himself, but because that is not the life Baste is used to. He likes pastoral scenes. “When I was a child, my mom used to bring me to our farm. I was about eight and I liked to join in planting corn, camote and peanuts. My mom bought me a shovel to clean up the weeds. I was paid P20 a day.”

That’s the kind of life he wants. Not with the PSG.

“If they will allow me to not have PSG, then why not? Kasi ‘di ko naman kailangan ng PSG. Maybe just security guards. Maybe two or one just to help me out pagbibili ng yosi. Iyong mauutusan ko lang. Hindi yung gwardyado ako.”

If he would be given an advocacy to support during his father’s presidency, he would take up the concerns of orphaned children. Baste admits he has a soft spot for them.

“My mom and dad separated when I was 11. I know the feeling ng bata na walang nanay at tatay. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, my two kids are from different mothers,” he concludes. “I would like to be of help to the orphans.”

(For your new beginnings, e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com.  I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed Sunday.)