Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rodrigo Roa Duterte KGCR (English: /dəˈtɜːrteɪ/, Tagalog: [ɾɔˈdɾigɔ ˈɾɔwa dʊˈtɛɾtɛ] ⓘ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody,[6] and by the initials DU30 and PRRD,[7][8] is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson of PDP–Laban, the ruling political party in the Philippines during his presidency. Duterte is the first president of the Philippines to be from Mindanao,[9][10] and is the oldest person to assume office, beginning his term at age 71.[11]
Rodrigo Roa Duterte | |
---|---|
16th President of the Philippines | |
In office June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022 | |
Vice President | Leni Robredo |
Preceded by | Benigno Aquino III |
Succeeded by | Bongbong Marcos |
Mayor of Davao City | |
In office June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2016 | |
Vice Mayor | Paolo Duterte |
Preceded by | Sara Duterte |
Succeeded by | Sara Duterte |
In office June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010 | |
Vice Mayor | Luis Bonguyan (2001–2007) Sara Duterte (2007–2010) |
Preceded by | Benjamin de Guzman |
Succeeded by | Sara Duterte |
In office February 2, 1988 – June 30, 1998 | |
Vice Mayor | Dominador Zuño (acting) Luis Bonguyan Benjamin de Guzman |
Preceded by | Jacinto Rubillar |
Succeeded by | Benjamin de Guzman |
Vice Mayor of Davao City | |
In office June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2013 | |
Mayor | Sara Duterte |
Preceded by | Sara Duterte |
Succeeded by | Paolo Duterte |
In office May 2, 1986 – November 27, 1987[lower-alpha 2] | |
Mayor | Zafiro Respicio |
Preceded by | Cornelio Maskariño |
Succeeded by | Gilbert Abellera |
Member of the House of Representatives from Davao City's 1st district | |
In office June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Prospero Nograles |
Succeeded by | Prospero Nograles |
Chairman of PDP–Laban | |
Assumed office February 7, 2016 | |
President | Koko Pimentel (2016–2020) Manny Pacquiao (2020–2021) Alfonso Cusi (2021–2022) Jose Alvarez (2022–present) |
Preceded by | Ismael Sueno |
Chairman of the Liberal Party in Davao City | |
In office 2009 – February 21, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Peter T. Laviña |
Personal details | |
Born | Rodrigo Roa Duterte (1945-03-28) March 28, 1945 (age 78) Maasin, Leyte, Philippine Commonwealth |
Political party | PDP–Laban (1998–2009; 2015–present)[lower-alpha 3][2][3] |
Other political affiliations | Liberal (2009–2015)[2][3] Nacionalista (1990–1998)[4] Lakas ng Dabaw (1988)[5] Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (local party; 2011–present) |
Spouse | |
Domestic partner | Honeylet Avanceña |
Children | |
Parent(s) | Vicente Duterte Soledad Roa |
Residence | Davao City |
Education | Holy Cross College of Digos (secondary) |
Alma mater | Lyceum of the Philippines University (BA) San Beda College (LL.B) |
Signature | |
Rodrigo Duterte affirms the Philippines v. China arbitral ruling before the United Nations General Assembly. Recorded September 22, 2020 | |
Born in Maasin, Leyte (now in Southern Leyte), Duterte moved to Davao as a child where his father, Vicente Duterte, served as provincial governor. He studied political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines University, graduating in 1968, before obtaining a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972. He then worked as a lawyer and was a prosecutor for Davao City, before becoming vice mayor and, subsequently, mayor of the city in the wake of the 1986 People Power Revolution. Duterte won seven terms and served as mayor of Davao for over 22 years, during which the once crime-ridden city became peaceful and investor-friendly.[12][13]
Duterte's 2016 presidential campaign led to his election victory. During his presidency, his domestic policy focused on combating the illegal drug trade by initiating the controversial war on drugs, fighting crime and corruption,[14][15][16] and intensified efforts against terrorism and communist insurgency. He launched a massive infrastructure plan,[17][18] initiated liberal economic reforms,[19] streamlined government processes,[20] and proposed a shift to a federal system of government which was ultimately unsuccessful.[21] He also oversaw the controversial burial of Ferdinand Marcos,[22][23] the 2017 Battle of Marawi,[24] and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] He declared the intention to pursue an "independent foreign policy", and strengthened relations with China and Russia.[26] He initially announced his candidacy for vice president in the 2022 election, but in October 2021, said he was retiring from politics; the next month, he filed his candidacy for senator but withdrew it on December 14.[27]
Duterte's political positions have been described as populist,[28][29][30] as well as nationalist.[31][32][33] His political success has been aided by his vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of drug users and other criminals.[34] His career has sparked numerous protests and attracted controversy, particularly over human rights issues and his controversial comments. Duterte has repeatedly confirmed to have personally killed criminal suspects during his term as mayor of Davao.[35][36] Extrajudicial killings that were allegedly committed by the Davao Death Squad between 1998 and 2016 during Duterte's mayoralty have also been scrutinized by human-rights groups and the Office of the Ombudsman;[37][38] the victims were mainly alleged drug users, alleged petty criminals, and street children.[39][40] The International Criminal Court opened a preliminary investigation into Duterte's drug war in 2018,[41] prompting Duterte to withdraw the Philippines from the body in response.[42] He is the only president in the history of the Philippines not to declare his assets and liabilities.[43] Duterte's popularity and domestic approval rating remained relatively high throughout his presidency and by the end of his term, he was the most popular post-EDSA (1986 People Power Revolution) president.[44][45][46]
Rodrigo Roa Duterte was born on March 28, 1945, in Maasin, Southern Leyte.[47] His father was Vicente Gonzales Duterte (1911–1968), a Cebuano lawyer, and his mother, Soledad Gonzales Roa (1916–2012), was a schoolteacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan and a civic leader of Maranao descent. Duterte has said that his grandfather was Chinese and hailed from Xiamen in Fujian, China.[48] Duterte has four siblings: Eleanor, Jocelyn, Emmanuel and Benjamin.[49]
Duterte's father was mayor of Danao, Cebu, and subsequently the provincial governor of (the then-undivided) Davao province. Rodrigo's cousin Ronald was mayor of Cebu City from 1983 to 1986. Ronald's father, Ramon Duterte, also held that position from 1957 to 1959. The Dutertes consider the Cebu-based political families of the Durano and the Almendras clan as relatives.[50][51] Duterte also has relatives from the Roa clan in Leyte through his mother's side.[52] Duterte's family lived in Maasin, and in his father's hometown in Danao, until he was four years old.[53] Duterte was heavily influenced by his mother, who unlike Vicente was a staunch anti-Marcos activist, which led the young Duterte to have a divided opinion on the Marcoses. Duterte later said Marcos could have been the best president, but unfortunately he was a dictator.[54] The Dutertes initially moved to Mindanao in 1948 but still went back and forth to the Visayas until 1949.[55] They finally settled in the Davao Region in 1950. Vicente worked as a lawyer engaged in private practice. Soledad worked as a teacher until 1952, when Vicente entered politics.[56]
Education and early law career
Duterte went to Laboon Elementary School in Maasin for a year.[52] He spent his remaining elementary days at Santa Ana Elementary School in Davao City, where he completed his primary education in 1956. He finished his secondary education in the High School Department of Holy Cross College of Digos (now Cor Jesu College) in Digos, Davao province, after being expelled twice from previous schools, including one in the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) High School due to misconduct.[57] He graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila.[58][59]
He obtained a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972.[60] In the same year, he passed the bar exam.[61] Duterte eventually became a special counsel at the City Prosecution Office in Davao City from 1977 to 1979, fourth assistant city prosecutor from 1979 to 1981, third assistant city prosecutor from 1981 to 1983, and second assistant city prosecutor from 1983 to 1986.[62][63]
Sexual abuse claims
Duterte has claimed he was sexually abused by a priest when he was a minor.[64] After he was challenged by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and AdDU officials to name the priest and file a case against him, Duterte then revealed the priest's name as Mark Falvey (d. 1975).[64] The Jesuits of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines confirmed that according to press reports in the United States, in May 2007, the Society of Jesus agreed to a tentative payout of US$16 million to settle claims that Falvey sexually abused at least nine children in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1975. Accusations against Falvey began in 2002 but he was never charged with a crime. In May 2008, the Diocese of Sacramento paid a $100,000-settlement to a person allegedly raped and molested by Mark's brother, Arthur Falvey. However, it was not clearly indicated in the report if Mark Falvey was assigned at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao.[65]
When asked why he did not complain when the abuse supposedly happened, Duterte claimed that he was too young to complain about the priest's abuse and was intimidated by authorities at that time. He also stated that he never disclosed that information after he was expelled and moved to a different high school and especially not to his family.[66]
Shooting of student at law school
Duterte stated at a rally in April 2016 that he shot a fellow student who had bullied him about his Visayan origin as well as other students of the same ethnicity, while at San Beda law college. He said, "But the truth is, I'm used to shooting people. When we were about to graduate from San Beda, I shot a person." Duterte said that he shot the student in a corridor at the college when the said student called him names again. He later told a reporter that the student survived, but refused to answer any further questions about the incident.[67]
However, in an interview aired on 24 Oras and published on the official GMA News Online website on April 22, 2016, retired labor arbiter Arthur Amansec said Duterte and Octavio Goco at that time were both playing with a gun as it was normal for students to bring guns to school in the seventies. Amansec is Duterte's former classmate in San Beda College who witnessed the incident. He added that "the bullet hit the school's wooden floor and was embedded there." Amansec emphasized that Duterte and Goco remained friends until Goco died in the United States years later.[68]
After the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor by President Corazon Aquino.[69] In 1988, he ran for mayor under the Lakas ng Dabaw banner and won,[4] serving until 1998. He set a precedent by designating deputy mayors to represent the administrative districts, as well as the Lumad and Moro peoples in the city government. This was later copied by other cities in other parts of the Philippines.
In December 1990, Duterte joined the Nacionalista Party upon the persuasion of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.[4][70] In 1998, because he was term-limited to run again for mayor, he ran for the House of Representatives and won as congressman of the 1st district of Davao City (under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino coalition). In 2001, he ran again for mayor of Davao and was elected for a fourth term. He was re-elected in 2004[71] and in 2007.[72]
In 1995, after Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina, was executed in Singapore after confessing to a double murder, Duterte allegedly burned a flag of Singapore (though this claim was later denied) and joined 1,000 employees of Davao City in protest.[73][74]
In 2010, he was elected vice mayor, succeeding his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was elected as mayor.[75]
In 2013, Davao City sent rescue and medical teams to Tacloban to give aid to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (locally known in the country as Typhoon Yolanda). Financial assistance was also given to Bohol and Cebu for earthquake victims.[76]
Duterte also passed Davao City's Women Development Code, which aims "to uphold the rights of women and the belief in their worth and dignity as human beings".[77][78] Duterte banned swimsuit competitions in beauty pageants in Davao City.[79] He gained prominence for supporting the first-ever Gawad Kalinga Village inside a jail facility in Davao City. It is a home-type jail with ten cottages built inside the compound, which now serve as homes for female inmates.[80]
Law and order
During Duterte's tenure as mayor, Davao City experienced economic boom and a significant decrease in crime from being a conflict-ridden area between communists and right-wing groups during the 1970s and 80s, and is constantly rated as among the safest in the country.[81][13] The city also ranks high in the world according to crowdsourced survey site Numbeo,[82][83] a narrative that gained currency in the national media, creating a widespread public perception that has been a significant factor in establishing support for his nationwide drug policy.[84][85][86] The city was also awarded "Most Child-Friendly City for Highly-Urbanized Category" in 1998, 1999, 2013 and 2014.[87][88]
Under Duterte's watch, the city council imposed a prohibition on selling, serving, drinking, and consuming alcoholic beverages from 01:00 until 08:00 each morning. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 39, reducing the speed limits for all kinds of motor vehicles within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City in the interest of public safety and order.[89] Duterte also signed Executive Order No. 04 creating the implementing of rules and regulations for a new comprehensive anti-smoking ordinance.[90] A firecracker ban was also implemented by the City Council through the support of Duterte.[91] Davao acquired 10 ambulances for central 911 intended for medical emergencies and 42 mobile patrol vehicles and motorcycles for the Davao City Police Office.[92] Duterte, through Executive Order No. 24, ordered all shopping malls and commercial centers to install, operate and maintain high end and high definition closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at all entrance and exit points of their premises.[93]
In early September 2015, an incident was reported of a tourist being forced to swallow his own cigarette butt in a local bar in Davao City after the tourist refused to comply with the public anti-smoking ordinance of the city. Duterte was contacted by the bar owner and the then-mayor personally went into the bar and forced the tourist to swallow his cigarette butt. Duterte was then met with criticisms especially from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).[94]
Alleged involvement to the Davao Death Squad
Duterte has been linked by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to extrajudicial killings of over 1,400 alleged criminals and street children by vigilante death squads.[34][95] In the April 2009 UN General Assembly of the Human Rights Council, the UN report (Eleventh Session Agenda item 3, par 21) said, "The Mayor of Davao City has done nothing to prevent these killings, and his public comments suggest that he is, in fact, supportive."[96] Duterte stressed that the concept of human rights for criminals is Western and should not apply to the Philippines.[97]
We're the ninth-safest city. How do you think I did it? How did I reach that title among the world's safest cities? Kill them all [criminals].
— Duterte, May 15, 2015[97]
Duterte has denied responsibility for the extrajudicial killings. He has also frequently announced his support for them.[34][98][99] In 2015, Duterte confirmed his links to extrajudicial killings in Davao, and warned that, if elected president, he may kill up to 100,000 criminals; he challenged human rights officials to file a case against him if they could provide evidence of his links with vigilante groups.[100] In October 2023, Duterte admitted on his talk show program Gikan sa Masa, para sa Masa to using intelligence funds to finance the extrajudicial killings done during his time as mayor.[101][102]
Federalism advocacy
In September 2014, Duterte and former mayors and governors, calling themselves the Mindanao Council of Leaders, advocated for a federalist government.[103] A month later, Duterte attended an event sponsored by the Federal Movement for a Better Philippines in Cebu City.[104]
In December 2014, Duterte held a summit entitled "Mindanaons Forging Unity Toward a Federal System of Government".[105]
As early as the first quarter of 2015, Duterte made hints to the media of his intention to run for president in the 2016 elections. However, he denied these plans numerous times amidst clamor from his supporters for him to run.
In January, Duterte said he would abolish Congress if he chose to run for president and was elected.[106] On November 21, in a private gathering with fraternity brothers from San Beda College of Law, Duterte formally announced his presidential bid and also finally accepted Alan Peter Cayetano's offer to be his running mate, and named his daughter, Sara Duterte, as his substitute for Mayor.[107][108] Duterte said he would introduce a federal parliamentary form of government.[109]
During his campaign, Duterte made controversial remarks, including promising to kill tens of thousands of criminals and eradicate crime in six months.[109][110] He also said his presidency would be "a bloody one", and that he would pardon himself, the police, and soldiers accused of human rights abuses at the end of his six-year term.[110] Duterte also apologized after saying out of anger when recalling the events[111] that he "should have been first" to rape Jacqueline Hamill, an Australian missionary who was gang-raped and killed during the 1989 Davao hostage crisis.[112] After the United States' and Australia's ambassadors to the Philippines criticized him for the rape comments, Duterte threatened to sever diplomatic ties with the countries if elected.[110]
Constitutional reform
Duterte campaigned for decentralization and a shift to a federal government during the 2016 presidential election. In an October 2014 forum organized by Federal Movement for a Better Philippines in Cebu City prior to joining the presidential race, the then-mayor of Davao City called for the creation of two federal states for Moro people as a solution to the problems besetting Mindanao.[113] Mayor Duterte said that Nur Misuari and his Moro National Liberation Front do not see eye-to-eye with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which the administration of President Benigno Aquino III had inked a peace deal with. He also said that the "template of the Bangsamoro Basic Law is federal", but what is granted to the Bangsamoro should also be granted to other Moro groups and other regions in the country.[114] In a dialogue with the Makati Business Club prior to the elections, Duterte said he is open to "toning down the Constitution" to accommodate more foreign investors to the Philippines.[115] He also said he is open to up to 70 percent foreign ownership of businesses in the country and foreign lease of lands up to 60 years, but will "leave it to Congress to decide".[115]
Election to the presidency
On May 30, 2016, the 16th Congress of the Philippines proclaimed Duterte as the president-elect of the Philippines after he topped the official count by the Congress of the Philippines for the 2016 presidential election with 16,601,997 votes, 6.6 million more than his closest rival, Mar Roxas.[116][117][118] Camarines Sur representative Leni Robredo on the other hand, was proclaimed as the vice president-elect of the Philippines with 14,418,817 votes, narrowly defeating Senator Bongbong Marcos by 263,473 votes.[119]