Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte (Tagalog: [ɾoˈdrigo dʊˈtɛrtɛ]; 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, and Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for 2017.[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 Osmeña 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 vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of drug users and criminals.[10] 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.[11] Duterte has alternately confirmed and denied his involvement.[12][13] 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".[14] Duterte has repeatedly confirmed that he personally killed three kidnapping suspects while Mayor of Davao in 1988.[15][16]
On May 9, 2016, Duterte won the Philippine presidential election with 38.5% of the votes,[17] after a campaign in which he promised to defeat crime by killing tens of thousands of criminals.[18] 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.[19] He has
