Rody" Roa Duterte (Tagalog: [rodigo dtrt]; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong,[5] is

a Filipino politician and jurist who is the 16th and current President of the Philippines.[6][7][8] He is the
first Mindanaoan to hold the office, and the fourth of Visayan descent.[9] At 71 years old, Duterte is
the oldest person to assume the Philippine presidency, superseding Sergio Osmea and Fidel
Ramos, respectively.

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. He then worked as a lawyer
and was a prosecutor for Davao City, a highly urbanized city on Mindanao island, before
becoming vice mayor and, subsequently, mayor of the city in the wake of the Philippine Revolution of
1986. Duterte was among the longest-serving mayors in the Philippines, serving seven terms
totaling more than 22 years in office.

Duterte's political success has been aided by his strong anti-crime policy during his time as mayor of
Davao[10] [11][12], including his vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of those involved in the illegal
drug trade and other criminals.[13] According to Reuters, human rights groups have documented over
1,400 killings allegedly by vigilante groups occurring in Davao between 1998 and May 2016; the
victims were mainly drug users, petty criminals and street children.[14] Duterte has alternately
confirmed and denied his involvement in the killings.[15] A January 2016 decision by the Office of the
Ombudsman on the alleged death squad in Davao between 2005 and 2009 found "no evidence to
support 'the killings attributed or attributable to the Davao Death Squad much less the involvement of
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte".[16] Duterte has repeatedly confirmed that he personally killed three
kidnapping suspects while Mayor of Davao in 1988. [17][18]

On May 9, 2016, Duterte won the Philippine presidential election with 38.5% of the votes,[19] after a
campaign in which he promised to defeat crime by killing tens of thousands of criminals. [20] His
domestic policy has focused on combating illegal drug trade by initiating the Philippine Drug War.
Following criticism from United Nations human rights experts that extrajudicial killings had increased
since the election, he threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the UN and form a new
organization with China and African nations.[21] He has vowed to pursue an "independent foreign
policy".[22]

Contents

[hide]

1Early life

o 1.1Education

o 1.2Abuse

o 1.3Shooting of student at law school

2Mayor of Davao City

 o 2.1Law and order

o 2.2Crime rate

o 2.3Alleged extrajudicial killings

o 2.4Federalism advocacy

32016 Presidential campaign

o 3.1Rape comments

o 3.2Human rights

o 3.3Election to the Presidency

4Presidency

o 4.1Views on media killings

o 4.2Domestic policy

4.2.1Anti-drug campaign

4.2.2Mindanao insurgency

4.2.3Communist insurgency

o 4.3Foreign policy

4.3.1South China Sea

4.3.2China and Russia

4.3.3United States

o 4.4Economic performance

o 4.5Presidential immunity

5Controversy and criticism

o 5.1International stage

o 5.2Catholic Church

o 5.3Personal killings
 6Personal life

o 6.1Family

o 6.2Ancestry

o 6.3Religion

o 6.4Health

o 6.5Prescription drug use

7Honors and awards

8See also

9References

10Further reading

11External links