AGKIS, PATRICIA P.

Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte, also known by the nickname Digong, is a Filipino lawyer
and politician of Visayan descent who is the President-elect of the Philippines after topping
the official

Congressional

canvass

for

the

2016

election. Duterte

will

become

the

first Mindanaoan president of the country.

Duterte is among the longest-serving mayors in the Philippines and has been Mayor
of Davao City, a highly urbanized city on Mindanao island, for seven terms, totalling more than
22 years. He has also served as vice-mayor and as congressman for the city.
Popular with the locals due to his successful zero tolerance policies against criminals, he
earned the nickname "The Punisher". Vigilante groups tied to Duterte are thought to be
responsible for the executions of drug traffickers, criminals, gang members and other lawless
elements. Over a period of 20 years, he turned Davao City from the "murder capital of the
Philippines" to what tourism organisations now describe as "the most peaceful city in southeast
Asia," and what numbeo.com ranks as the world's fourth safest place. Nonetheless, Duterte has
drawn criticism from various sources, particularly the press and the Philippine National
Police leadership in the Aquino government, which contest the effectiveness of his policies.
Duterte had been urged to run for the Philippine presidency numerous times, but refused
these offers until well into 2015 on the grounds of a "flawed government system", old age and
opposition from his family. Nevertheless, on November 21, 2015, he declared his candidacy in
the 2016 election contest for the office of the President of the Philippines, and won with a
landslide victory, garnering 16,601,997 votes. Duterte is due to take office on June 30, 2016, for
a term of six years.
Duterte was born on March 28, 1945, in Maasin (now the capital of Southern Leyte but
was then part of the insular province of Leyte in the Philippine Commonwealth). His father
was Cebuano lawyer Vicente G. Duterte and his mother was Soledad Roa, a native
of Cabadbaran, Agusan, who was a school teacher and a civic leader of Maranao descent.
Duterte's father Vicente, prior to being provincial governor of (the then-undivided) Davao
province, was once an acting mayor of Danao, Cebu. Rodrigo's cousin Ronald, on the other
hand, served as Cebu City mayor from 1983 to 1986. Ronalds father, Ramon Duterte, also held
the position from 1957 to 1959. The Dutertes 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. Before they resettled to Davao, Duterte's family briefly lived in
his birthplace in Maasin, Leyte, and in his father's hometown in Danao, Cebu, until he was five
years old.

Duterte went to Laboon Elementary School in Maasin, for a year. He spent his remaining
elementary days at the Santa Ana Elementary School in Davao City, where he graduated in
1956. He finished his secondary education in 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 Ateneo de Davao University due to misconduct. At the
tertiary level, he graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree inPolitical Science at
the Lyceum of the Philippines University in Manila. He also obtained a law degree from San
Beda College of Law, still in Manila, in 1972. In the same year, he passed the bar exam. Duterte
eventually became Special Counsel at the City Prosecution Office in Davao City from 19771979; Fourth Assistant City Prosecutor from 1979-1981; Third Assistant City Prosecutor from
1981-1983; and Second Assistant City Prosecutor from 1983-1986.
Duterte claimed publicly to have shot a fellow student while in law school for
allegedly bullying him because of his Visayan origins. His victim, however, survived, and
although Duterte was prohibited from participating in the commencement march, he did
graduate.
1. His previous political stint. As early as 1986, Mayor Duterte has been active in the
political area as he served as the appointed vice mayor/officer in charge of the city
following the People Power Revolution. He then designated deputy mayors who
represented Moro and Lumad, which were later on replicated in other areas of the
Philippines. He has served as a Congressman, ran as mayor, vice mayor, and mayor
again. He was never out of politics.
2. His awards. Mayor Duterte has won several awards including the National Literacy Hall
of Fame for bagging the awards on Outstanding Local Government Highly Urbanized
category for three times.
3.

His strict rules. Davao City is known nationwide because of its peace and order. This
is mainly due to the rules imposed by the City Council members that were fully
supported by Mayor Duterte. Among those rules are the liquor ban in the city from
1:00am to 8:00am; requiring commercial establishments to set up CCTV cameras; and
strict speed limits to vehicles within Davao City.

4. His humanitarian side. The Davao City Mayor also landed on headlines for leading the
citys humanitarian efforts. After the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda, Davao City
was among the first local government units that responded. There are several reasons
to love or hate this Mayor of Davao City. But the imposition of strict rules in his
jurisdiction undeniably improved peace and order and public safety.

PORTFOLIO
IN ARTS