RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE

(BIOGRAPHY)

INTRODUCTION

Rodrigo Roa Duterte was born on March 28, 1994, also known as Digong and Rody, is a
Filipino politician who is the 16th and incumbent President of the Philippines and the first from
Mindanao to hold the office. He is the chairperson of PDP-Laban, the ruling political party in the
Philippines. Duterte took office at age 71 on June 20, 2016 making him the oldest person to
assume the Philippine presidency.

EARLY LIFE

Duterte was born on March 28, 194, in Maasin City, Southern Leyte. His father was
Vicente Gonzales Duterte, a Cebuano lawyer, and his mother, Soledad Roa Duterte, was a
school teacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan and a civic leader of Maranao descent. The Duterte
consider the Cebu-based political families of the Durano and the Almendras clan as relatives.
Duterte also has relatives from the Roa clan in Leyte through his mother’s side. Duterte’s family
lived in Maasin, and in his father’s hometown in Danao, until he was four years old. The
Dutertes initially moved to Mindanao in 1948 but still went back and forth to the Visayas until
1949. 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.

EDUCATION

Duterte went to Laboon Elementary School in Maasin City, for a year. He spent his
remaining elementary days at Santa Ana Elementary School in Davao City, where he graduated
in 1956. He finished his secondary education in the High School Department of the then-Holy
Cross College of Digos (now Cor Jesu College) in today’s city of Digos in the now-defunct Davao
province, after being expelled twice from previous schools, including one in the Ateneo de
Davao University (AdDU) High School due to misconduct. He graduated in 1968 with a bachelor
of Arts degree in political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila. He obtain a law
degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972. In the same year, he passed the bar exam.
Duterte eventually became a special Counsel at the City Prosecution Office in Davao City from
1977-1986.

PERSONAL LIFE

Duterte was married to Elizabeth Zimmerman and thier marriaged was annuled in 2000.
They have children namely; Paolo, Sara and Sebastian. Digongs current partner Honeylette
Avancena is a Filipina business woman and former nurse. Avancena and Duterte have been in a
relationship since at least 1996 and have a duaghter named Veronica.

Duterte has said that he was sexually abused by a priest when he was a minor. After he was
challenged by the Cathollic 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 Fr. Mark
Falvey. When asked why he did not complain when the abuse supposedly happened, Duterte
clained that he was too young to complain aboyut the priest’s abuse and was intimidated by
the 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.

Duterte was elected mayor in 1988, and he was reelected to that post twice over the
subsequent decade. Because of term-limit restrictions, he was barred from seeking reelection
in 1998, but he successfully ran for a seat representing Davao in the Philippines House of
Representative. Upon the completion of that term in 2001, he returned to Davao City and was
once more elected mayor. Because the term limit restriction again came into force in 2010, he
was elected vice mayor, and his dauther Sara served as mayor. In 2013 Duterte returned to the
mayor’s office, this time with his son Paolo (‘Pulong’) serving as vice mayor. During his more
than two decades as mayor of Davao City, the controversial politician transformed the city from
a haven of lawlessness into one of the safest areas in Southeast Asia. Duterte’s harsh crime
fighting tactics earned him the nicknames “the Punisher” and “Duterte Harry” but critics such as
Amnesty International and Human Rights watch claimed that Duterte was responsible for more
than 1000 etrajudicial killings. Rather than denying such allegations, he embraced them. The
death squads that had carried out the killings operation with an impurity that implied official
sanction and Duterte openly praised both their methods and their apparent results. His
antiestablishment message took hold among a Filipino public weary of official corruption, and
his grasp over the top rhetoric led to comparisons of him to U.S. President Donald Trump.

REASON WHY I CHOOSE (RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE)

As a leader, Mr. Duterte uses a combination of different leadership skills characterized

by firmness in decisions, taking responsibility for all actions made and the ability to accomplish
the desired outcomes. He is a transactional leader with charisma to the masses. He is an
entrepreneurial leader, a risk taker, and a negotiator. His autocracy fits the level of maturity of
the Dabawenyos. He is voted primarily for his leadership skills in maintaining peace and order
while the various programs he has implemented are considered as additional accomplishments
to his brand of leadership.