Rodrigo Duterte sworn in as President of Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as the 16th President of Philippines. He will have tenure of six years.
He was administered oath to the office by the Supreme Court justice at the Malacanang presidential palace

About Rodrigo Duterte

• Born on March 28, 1945 in Maasin, Leyte into a political family with a modest background.
• By profession he is lawyer but later had entered into the politics. In his political career, for the first time he became vice-mayor of Davao in 1986 and mayor in 1988.
• He is the longest-serving mayors in the Philippines and was mayor of Davao City for seven terms, totalling more than 22 years span.
• During his stint as a mayor of Davao, he had played important role in reducing crime rates in the Davao City.
• It had earned him the nickname The Punisher, among the locals due to his successful zero tolerance policies against criminals.
• He also had held a seat in Philippines congress representing Davao City.
• During the Presidential elections, he was nicknamed as Dirty Harry and often was compared to the US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Background
In the 2016 presidential election of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte had emerged victorious by a landslide victory. He had secured 39% (15.36 million) of the votes and was followed by Mar Roxas 23% (9.27 million) votes and Grace Poe with 22% (8.6 million) votes.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016