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Rodrigo Duterte 2013-by Ryan Lim-

Top 15 Sensational Facts about Rodrigo Duterte

*Originally published by Vanessa M on July 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R on June 2023

Rodrigo Roa Duterte also known as  Digong, Rody, and by the initials, DU30 and PRRD was born on  March 28, 1945, in Maasin, Leyte, Philippine Commonwealth.

He is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

Duterte is the leader of PDP-Laban, the party in power in the Philippines during his administration. He, who took office at age 71, is the oldest president in Philippine history and the first from the Mindanao region.

Having studied political science, Duterte worked as a lawyer and was a prosecutor for Davao City, before becoming vice mayor and, later, mayor of the city in the wake of the 1986 People Power Revolution.

His domestic policy while the president was centred on stopping the illegal drug trade by starting the aggressive war on drugs, tackling crime and corruption, and stepping up counterterrorism and communist insurgent operations.

He first declared his intention to run for vice president in the 2022 election, but in October 2021, he said he was quitting politics.

Dutertes’s political positions have been described as populist and nationalist. His popularity and domestic approval rating remained relatively high throughout his term.

He is the only president in the history of the Philippines not to display his assets and liabilities. Here are 15 sensational facts about Rodrigo Duterte. 

1. Duterte was born into a politically based family

His father Vicente G. Duterte was the provincial governor of the Davao province after serving as the mayor of Danao, Cebu.

From 1983 until 1986, Ronald, Rodrigo’s cousin, served as mayor of Cebu City. Ramon Duterte, Ronald’s father, served in that capacity from 1957 until 1959.

Duterte also has relatives from the Roa clan in Leyte through his mother’s side. Also, his family considers the Cebu-based political families of the Durano and the Almendras clan as relatives.

2. He was elected the 16th president of the Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte addresses the Filipino community in Brunei-by KING RODRIGUEZ-

On June 30, 2016, at noon, Duterte took office as the sixteenth president of the Philippines, succeeding Benigno Aquino III.

He held his first cabinet meeting shortly after his inauguration to lay out their first agenda, which included the nation’s disaster risk reduction management.

Decongesting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the country’s main gateway, and expressing his ideas and concerns regarding the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

He signed his first executive order on July 4 empowering his Cabinet Secretary to lead a number of organizations that fight poverty.

Also, he demanded that hanging be used to kill those convicted of obvious crimes like the illegal drug trade and advocated for the reinstatement of the death penalty in the nation.

3.  His policy was centred on stopping the illegal drug trade

Duterte launched a national anti-drug campaign after being elected and urged Filipinos, including the New People’s Army, to join the fight against illicit substances.

As of January 2019, there have been 5,100 recorded deaths of drug dealers. The death toll has been reported to be above 12,000 by several news outlets and human rights organizations.

4. Duterte served as the mayor of Davao City

Rodrigo Duterte Benigno Aquino III 02-by Ryan Lim-

Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor by President Corazon Aquino during the 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew President Ferdinand Marcos’ administration.

He successfully ran for mayor in 1988 as an independent and held office until 1998.  He transformed the city from a haven of lawlessness into one of the safest areas in Southeast Asia.

5.  Duterte is a degree holder

Duterte graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila.

He then proceeded to obtain a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972, then he succeeded on the bar test that same year.

6. He has been in various political positions

After serving as a special prosecutor in the Davao City City Prosecution Office from 1977 to 1979.

Duterte then climbed to the positions of fourth assistant city prosecutor, third assistant city prosecutor, second assistant city prosecutor, and fourth assistant city prosecutor.

He served as vice-mayor of Davao City from 1986-1987 and 2010-2013. Mayor of Davao city 1988-1998, 2001-2010 and 2013-2016.

Member in the Philippine House of Representatives 1998-2001 and President of the Philippines 2016-2022.

7. His political positions have been described as populist and nationalist

President Rodrigo Duterte at the Marco Polo Hotel 1-by TOTO LOZANO-

Davao city had a huge drop in crime during Duterte’s time as mayor and is now consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation.

In his first 100 days in the presidency, Duterte issued an executive order on freedom of information, intensified his war on drugs, and attempted to restart negotiations with communist rebels.

He developed a comprehensive tax reform plan, oversaw efforts to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and streamlined government transactions.

He also launched the 9-1-1 rescue and 8888 complaint hotlines and established a one-stop service centre for overseas Filipino workers. 

8. Duterte was ranked 70th on the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People

Forbes logo-by Forbes, Inc-

According to Forbes, Duterte’s war on crime and raw and filthy speech keep him in the news.

According to the magazine, Duterte won the presidency of the Philippines on the strength of a campaign that vowed the execution of drug traffickers and other criminals and has since resulted in thousands of deaths.

9. He is the only president in the history of the Philippines not to display his assets and liabilities in 2018

When it comes to the specifics of his riches, President Rodrigo Duterte is a very discreet person.

He failed to make available a copy of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth for 2018, eight months after the April 30 reporting due.

Duterte stands out as the falsehood of his own Freedom of Information (FOI) proclamation, according to every piece of evidence.

10. Duterte is the oldest president in Philippine history

President Rodrigo Duterte 080816-by Presidential Communications Operations Office-

At the age of 71, Duterte became the oldest person ever elected to the presidency. He is also the first local chief executive to get elected straight to the Office of the President.

The second Cebuano to become president and the first from the Mindanao region.

President Rodrigo Duterte concentrated his efforts on fighting crime and drug traffickers and users for six years despite having many demonstrators, particularly about the mentioned “human rights”.

He pushed for better relations with China, a country with whom the Philippines has disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.

11. The Dutertes are initially from Cebu

The Dutertes are from Cebu initially. For instance, Vicente Duterte, his late father and a former governor of Davao, served as mayor of Danao City in Cebu. Then again, his relative Ronald ruled over Cebu City as mayor from 1983 to 1986. Ramon Duterte, Ronald’s father, served in the capacity from 1957 to 1959.
The Durano and Almendra clans, among other political families in Cebu, are considered to be related by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. His father left behind several of their relatives who have since stayed in Cebu when he migrated to Davao in the 1950s.

While he has been the mayor of Davao City for many years, Duterte still identifies as Cebuano. He even has a little piece of real estate in Danao City and is thinking about retiring there in the future. Prior to Duterte’s presidential bid, a number of provincial politicians who are in Cebuano declared support for him.

12. He describes his term in Congress as boring

After serving three terms as mayor of Davao City, Duterte stood for and was elected to Congress in 1998 from the city’s first district. The 1987 Constitution required that representatives and other municipal authorities could only be elected to three consecutive three-year terms, thus he had no alternative. Duterte, who is known for his direct style of management, feels his time in the House was boring.

13. President Arroyo hired Rodrigo Duterte as her adviser on solving crimes

The leadership style of Duterte has drawn both critics and supporters. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the former president, was one among many who praised his contribution to the transformation of Davao City and eventually asked for his assistance in 2002.

Arroyo hired the mayor of Davao City as her advisor on crime prevention. In order to bring about peace and order in the nation, his main responsibility would be to oversee an anti-terror task force. Duterte’s appointment didn’t sit well with the critics, even if Arroyo supported his “tough on crime” stance. As the executive director of Human Rights Watch at the time, Kenneth Roth publicly condemned Arroyo for “receiving security advice from someone who openly supports murder to create peace and prosperity.”

14. He appointed someone to help the indigenous people

Despite the fact that the needs of indigenous communities are often ignored in several parts of the country, Davao City is an exception. In reality, Duterte was one of the first leaders to select deputy mayors to serve as the Lumad and Muslim communities’ representatives in the local government. These tribal leaders, in his view, are “better positioned to address specific challenges and problems of priority and special concern to the tribal and Muslim member groups of the city.”

Thanks to his mother’s efforts, Duterte has a true interest in the well-being of indigenous communities. Soledad Roa Duterte, later referred to by her friends as Nanay Soling, was actively involved in a number of initiatives that intended to better the lives of the Aeta, Bago, and Badjao villages.

15. He used to give police officers bribes so that they wouldn’t be tempted to take bribes 

Mayor Duterte usually drives through Davao City twice a week on a Harvey large bike to make sure everything is in order. He would typically check the station homes during these night patrols to make sure the officers weren’t dozing off and to find out “who’s in the holding cells and why.”

In a TIME Magazine article, it was said that Duterte had implemented a strategy of “giving groceries to cops as a way of limiting their temptation to elicit bribes.” But others who were caught in the act were not treated with such respect. For instance, Duterte “personally doles out a thrashing” when he discovers a police officer intoxicated while on duty.