128 Facts About Rodrigo Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte 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.

Rodrigo Duterte 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.

Rodrigo Duterte launched a massive infrastructure plan, initiated liberal economic reforms, streamlined government processes, and proposed a shift to a federal system of government which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Rodrigo Duterte oversaw the controversial burial of Ferdinand Marcos, the 2017 Battle of Marawi, and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rodrigo Duterte declared the intention to pursue an "independent foreign policy", and strengthened relations with China and Russia.

Rodrigo Duterte 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.

Rodrigo Duterte's career has sparked numerous protests and attracted controversy, particularly over human rights issues and his controversial comments.

Extrajudicial killings that were allegedly committed by the Davao Death Squad between 1998 and 2016 during Rodrigo Duterte's mayoralty have been scrutinized by human-rights groups and the Office of the Ombudsman; the victims were mainly alleged drug users, alleged petty criminals, and street children.

Rodrigo Duterte is the only president in the history of the Philippines not to declare his assets and liabilities.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte was born on March 28,1945, in Maasin, Southern Leyte.

Rodrigo Duterte's father was Vicente Gonzales Duterte, a Cebuano lawyer, and his mother, Soledad Gonzales Roa, was a schoolteacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan and a civic leader of Maranao descent.

Rodrigo Duterte has said that his grandfather was Chinese and hailed from Xiamen in Fujian, China.

Ronald's father, Ramon Rodrigo Duterte, held that position from 1957 to 1959.

Rodrigo Duterte has relatives from the Roa clan in Leyte through his mother's side.

Rodrigo Duterte's family lived in Maasin, and in his father's hometown in Danao, until he was four years old.

Rodrigo Duterte was heavily influenced by his mother, who unlike Vicente was a staunch anti-Marcos activist, which led the young Rodrigo Duterte to have a divided opinion on the Marcoses.

Rodrigo Duterte later said Marcos could have been the best president, but unfortunately he was a dictator.

Rodrigo Duterte went to Laboon Elementary School in Maasin for a year.

Rodrigo Duterte spent his remaining elementary days at Santa Ana Elementary School in Davao City, where he completed his primary education in 1956.

Rodrigo Duterte finished his secondary education in the High School Department of Holy Cross College of Digos in Digos, Davao province, after being expelled twice from previous schools, including one in the Ateneo de Davao University High School due to misconduct.

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

Rodrigo Duterte obtained a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972.

Rodrigo 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.

Rodrigo Duterte stated that he never disclosed that information after he was expelled and moved to a different high school and especially not to his family.

Rodrigo 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.

Rodrigo Duterte later told a reporter that the student survived, but refused to answer any further questions about the incident.

In December 1990, Rodrigo Duterte joined the Nacionalista Party upon the persuasion of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

In 1995, after Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina, was executed in Singapore after confessing to a double murder, Rodrigo Duterte allegedly burned a flag of Singapore and joined 1,000 employees of Davao City in protest.

Rodrigo Duterte 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".

Rodrigo Duterte banned swimsuit competitions in beauty pageants in Davao City.

Rodrigo Duterte gained prominence for supporting the first-ever Gawad Kalinga Village inside a jail facility in Davao City.

Under Rodrigo 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.

Rodrigo 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.

Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No 04 creating the implementing of rules and regulations for a new comprehensive anti-smoking ordinance.

Rodrigo Duterte was then met with criticisms especially from the Commission on Human Rights.

Rodrigo 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.

In 2015, Rodrigo Duterte confirmed his links to extrajudicial killings in Davao, and warned that, if elected president, he may kill up to 100,000 criminals.

In December 2014, Rodrigo Duterte held a summit entitled "Mindanaons Forging Unity Toward a Federal System of Government".

Rodrigo Duterte promised to kill tens of thousands of criminals and eradicate crime in six months.

Rodrigo Duterte campaigned for decentralization and a shift to a federal government during the 2016 presidential election.

Rodrigo Duterte said that the "template of the Bangsamoro Basic Law is federal", but what is granted to the Bangsamoro should be granted to other Moro groups and other regions in the country.

Rodrigo Duterte 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".

Rodrigo Duterte recalled examining her corpse and saying that he "should have gone first".

Rodrigo Duterte said that he doubted her story, and called her a "drama queen".

The presidency of Rodrigo Duterte began at noon on June 30,2016, when he became the sixteenth president of the Philippines, succeeding Benigno Aquino III.

At the age of 71, Rodrigo Duterte became the oldest person ever elected to the presidency.

Rodrigo Duterte called for the reimposition of capital punishment in the country to execute criminals involved in "heinous" crimes, such as illegal drug trade, insisting on hanging.

Rodrigo Duterte made moves to limit US visiting troops in the country, and has reached out to China and Russia to improve relations.

Rodrigo Duterte launched tirades against international critics, particularly, United States President Barack Obama, the US government, the United Nations, and the European Union, which expressed condemnation to his unprecedented war on drugs that led to the deaths of about 3,300 people, half of which were killed by unknown assailants, and the arrest of 22,000 drug suspects and surrender of about 731,000 people.

On December 7, Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No 10 creating a consultative committee to review the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

In December 2016, Rodrigo Duterte was ranked 70th on Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People.

Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No 11659, amending the 85-year-old Public Service Act, allowing full foreign ownership of public services, which include airports, expressways, railways, telecommunications, and shipping industries, in the country.

Rodrigo Duterte reformed the country's tax system in an effort to make the country's tax system fairer, simpler, and more efficient.

In March 2021, to attract more investments and maintain fiscal stability, Rodrigo Duterte signed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, reducing the 30 percent corporate income tax rate to 25 percent for firms with assets above and to 20 percent for smaller firms.

Rodrigo Duterte raised sin taxes on tobacco and vapor products in July 2019, and alcohol beverages and electronic cigarettes in January 2020, to fund the Universal Health Care Act and reduce incidence of deaths and diseases associated with smoking and alcohol consumption.

Rodrigo Duterte cited the difficulty in border control against illegal drugs due to the country's long coastline and lamented that government officials and law enforcers themselves were involved in the drug trade.

Rodrigo Duterte has said that Moro dignity is what the MILF and MNLF are struggling for, and that they are not terrorists.

Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged that the Moros were subjected to wrongdoing, historical and in territory.

Rodrigo Duterte was endorsed in the election by Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari due to his background in Mindanao.

On November 6,2016, Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order to expand the Bangsamoro Transition Commission to 21 members from 15, in which 11 will be decided by the MILF and 10 will be nominated by the government.

Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law on July 26,2018, which abolished the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and provided for the basic structure of government for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, following the agreements set forth in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro peace agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.

Rodrigo Duterte oversaw the five-month long Battle of Marawi starting May 2017, declaring martial law throughout Mindanao and extending it for two years to ensure order in the island.

In June 2017, Rodrigo Duterte ordered the creation of an inter-agency task force to facilitate the rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction efforts in the conflict-torn city.

In July 2020, Rodrigo Duterte signed the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which aims to give more surveillance powers to government forces in order to curb terror threats and acts.

Rodrigo Duterte signed proclamations granting amnesty to members of the Moro National Liberation Front, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in February 2021.

Rodrigo Duterte initially pursued peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines and appointed several left-leaning individuals to government positions, but cancelled all negotiations in February 2017 following attacks and kidnapping of soldiers by New Peoples Army rebels, officially declaring the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

Several officials with leftist affiliations initially appointed by Rodrigo Duterte have either resigned, been fired, or rejected by the Commission on Appointments.

Rodrigo Duterte created the Task Force Balik-Loob in April 2018 for the reintegration of former communist rebels.

Rodrigo Duterte officially announced the permanent termination of the peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF on March 21,2019, and said the communist rebels' call for land reform is already being done under his administration.

At his fourth State of the Nation address in July 2019, Rodrigo Duterte issued an order to cut coal dependence and hasten a transition to renewable energy.

On February 28,2022, Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order approving the inclusion of nuclear power in the country's energy mix.

Rodrigo Duterte signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in March 2017, after initially having misgivings about the deal which he says might limit the country's industrialization.

Rodrigo Duterte said that rich countries producing the most carbon emissions must pay smaller countries for damage caused by climate change.

Rodrigo Duterte introduced reforms to eliminate red tape in the government, and ordered government agencies to remove all processes which are "redundant or burdensome" to the public.

In May 2018, Rodrigo Duterte signed the Ease of Doing Business Act which aims to create a better business environment by reducing processing time, cutting bureaucratic red tape, and eliminating corrupt practices in all government agencies.

Rodrigo Duterte vowed to improve the health care system, certifying the Universal Healthcare Bill as an urgent measure as early as July 2018.

Rodrigo Duterte enacted the National Integrated Cancer Control Act which establishes a "national integrated" program to control and prevent cancer by making treatment more accessible and affordable, and the Philippine Mental Health Law, which provides free mental health services down to the barangay level while requiring hospitals to provide psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services.

In December 2019, Rodrigo Duterte signed a law institutionalizing Malasakit Centers in all hospitals run by the Department of Health, allowing indigent patients to efficiently access financial medical assistance from various government agencies.

Rodrigo Duterte ordered the full implementation of the Reproductive Health Law, banned smoking in public places nationwide, and set a price cap on select medicines.

Rodrigo Duterte signed the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in August 2017, providing free college education in all state universities and colleges nationwide.

Rodrigo Duterte signed a law establishing transnational higher education in the country, allowing foreign universities to offer degree programs in the Philippines in an effort to bring international quality standards and expertise into the country.

Rodrigo Duterte signed medical scholarships for deserving students in state universities and colleges or partner private higher education institutions through the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act on December 23,2020.

Rodrigo Duterte approved in January 2021 a law institutionalizing the alternative learning system, providing free education to those out of school.

On June 9,2020, Rodrigo Duterte signed a law establishing the country's first National Academy of Sports in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac.

Rodrigo Duterte has adopted a cautious, pragmatic, and conciliatory stance towards China compared to his predecessor, and has set aside the previous administration's confrontational policy of asserting the Philippines' claims over the South China Sea and its islands.

Rodrigo Duterte has been criticized for his political views, controversial comments, and others.

Various international publications and media companies had claimed that Rodrigo Duterte's "War on Drugs" was a war against the poor due to the abject poverty of those arrested or killed.

Rodrigo Duterte believes that the number of deaths are a measure of his success in his war against drugs, and despite constant criticism of his war on drugs, Rodrigo Duterte had staunchly defended his administration's efforts at getting rid of "filth" from the streets.

HRW estimates that there has been 7,000 deaths from the day Rodrigo Duterte first took office to January 2017.

The Rodrigo Duterte administration suspended the drugs war in February 2017 in an effort to cleanse the police ranks of supposed corruption, halting the disclosure of figures on deaths related to drug arrests and raids.

Rodrigo Duterte had withdrawn the country just one month after the opening of the investigation.

Rodrigo Duterte has been portrayed by his critics in the media as having a "dirty mouth".

Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly criticized the Catholic Church which has expressed alarm over deaths linked to the war on drugs.

In June 2021, Rodrigo Duterte stated he may run in the 2022 Philippine presidential election as Vice President.

Critics raised the possibility of Rodrigo Duterte extending his term after he announced his candidacy for vice president.

On October 2,2021, Rodrigo Duterte withdrew his candidacy and announced his retirement from politics, with long-time aide and Senator Bong Go replacing him as the vice presidential candidate.

On December 14,2021, hours after Go withdrew his candidacy for president, Rodrigo Duterte officially withdrew his senate bid.

Rodrigo Duterte remained influential before the national elections as several presidential candidates were open to his endorsement due to his high popularity.

Allies of Rodrigo Duterte endorsed different candidates after the Cusi faction was left without a standard bearer following Go's withdrawal.

Rodrigo Duterte insisted on endorsing only Sara as vice president and 17 senatorial candidates, and stressed that he will remain neutral, deciding not to endorse any presidential bet and prohibiting his Cabinet members from campaigning for any candidate to avoid suspicion that he will use public funds for his preferred successor's campaign and to prevent cabinet members from compromising their integrity.

In March 2022, Go said Rodrigo Duterte briefly met with Marcos and gave him advice on the presidency, but could not say whether Rodrigo Duterte gave Marcos an endorsement.

On May 5,2022, Rodrigo Duterte created a transition committee led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to oversee the transition of power to the next administration.

Rodrigo Duterte has been described as a populist, with his foul-mouthed remarks against the country's elite which positioned him as a "man of the people" as critical to his victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Rodrigo Duterte has been compared to US President Donald Trump for his rhetorical style.

In 2015, members of the various groups urged Rodrigo Duterte to run for president.

Rodrigo Duterte described himself as left-leaning during his campaign and presidency, but has stressed that he is for democracy and is not a communist.

Rodrigo Duterte was once a member of the leftist Kabataang Makabayan during the 1970s.

Rodrigo Duterte himself is a student of prominent Philippine leftist figure and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison.

Rodrigo Duterte is known for being an avid fan of big bikes, but detests luxury cars.

Rodrigo Duterte once owned a second-hand Harley-Davidson and a Yamaha Virago.

Rodrigo Duterte was once a habitual smoker, but he eventually quit after a doctor's suggestion due to health concerns.

Rodrigo Duterte is an avid reader of Robert Ludlum and Sidney Sheldon novels.

Rodrigo Duterte is known for his straightforward and vocal attitude in public, especially in interviews, showing no hesitation in profusely using profanity live on-screen on numerous occasions despite formal requests by media groups and schools beforehand to abstain.

Rodrigo Duterte has his own local show in Davao City called Gikan Sa Masa, Para Sa Masa, which was aired as a blocktimer on ABS-CBN Davao, and later on SMNI News Channel.

Rodrigo Duterte is a member of Lex Talionis Fraternitas, a fraternity based in the San Beda College of Law and the Ateneo de Davao University.

Rodrigo Duterte was once married to Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman, a flight attendant of Jewish and German American descent from Davao City.

Rodrigo Duterte has been publicly very open about his infidelity and philandering while married to Zimmerman and cited it as the reason for his failed first marriage when asked in interviews.

Rodrigo Duterte never appeared in court and did not contest Zimmerman's petition.

Rodrigo Duterte is currently living with his common-law wife Cielito "Honeylet" Avancena, a nurse, with whom he has one daughter named Veronica.

Rodrigo Duterte has eleven grandchildren, half of whom are Muslims and the other half Christian, and one great grandchild.

Rodrigo Duterte has described himself as Christian in 2016 and "spiritual" in 2018, expressing that he "can't accept" Catholicism or organized religion but that he is neither an atheist nor an agnostic.

Rodrigo Duterte has challenged the Catholic Church to show evidence of the existence of God, while expressing his belief in "one Supreme God" and "a universal mind somewhere which controls the universe".

Rodrigo Duterte has referred to God as Allah and has been quoted as saying: "a part of me which is Islam".

Rodrigo Duterte has Buerger's disease, an inflammation of blood vessels, mostly in the limbs, and Barrett's esophagus, wherein esophageal cells are gradually replaced by gastrointestinal cells.

Rodrigo Duterte admitted in December 2016 that he had been a user of the addictive opioid drug Fentanyl.

Rodrigo Duterte said that a doctor prescribed the drug to alleviate back pain and headaches, but that he would take more than he was prescribed.

Rodrigo Duterte later denied that he was a drug addict, and a spokesman stated that he was not affected by side-effects of the drug, which include confusion, anxiety and hallucinations.

Rodrigo Duterte was conferred an honorary doctorate degree for international relations or foreign diplomacy from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on October 5,2019.