[269], Duterte had already made light of the fact of his capacity to give presidential pardons, even with presidential immunity, when he vowed to pardon himself the moment he became president during the 2016 campaign:[270][271], Rodrigo Duterte developed a reputation as a "protector" and "savior" in his hometown of Davao City as mayor of the city for more than two decades. "[354] Obama and Duterte later met informally. Another self-confessed hitman, Edgar Matobato, who recounts the then mayor Duterte kill eight times, "seven at the infamous Ma-a quarry in Davao City", in the span of 1998 to 2000[318]. [135] Duterte has theatrically vowed "to litter Manila Bay with the bodies of criminals". [255] This is supported by polls conducted by Pulse Asia one year after Duterte took office, wherein approval (82%) and trust (81%) ratings for Duterte still remain very high. In 2001, he ran again for mayor of Davao and was elected for a fourth term. [226] U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson Mark Toner responded to Duterte's criticisms by saying that the Philippine–U.S. [206], On October 12, Duterte declared his intention to terminate joint US–Philippine naval patrols in the South China Sea, which he believes could needlessly antagonize China. He acknowledged that the Moros were subjected to wrongdoing, historical and in territory. He said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) both support his proposal for federalism in the Philippines, which he says is the only solution to the Bangsamoro peace process. [89], On May 30, 2016, the 16th Congress of the Philippines proclaimed Duterte as the President-elect of the Philippines after he topped the official count by the Congress of the Philippines for the 2016 presidential election with 16,601,997 votes, 6.6 million more than his closest rival, Mar Roxas. [399] This was after he read Gaviria's opinion that was published in The New York Times. [384] Duterte however canceled his planned trip and instead wrote a letter to Pope Francis dated January 21, 2016. For others with the surname, see, "DU30" redirects here. [55], Davao had the highest murder rate, the second highest rape rate, and the fourth highest number of index crimes in the Philippines, according to official police raw data for the years 2010 to 2015. [189] During an interview with Al Jazeera, he expressed his willingness to conduct joint military exercises with China and Russia. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013 reported that 73% of Filipinos believe that homosexuality should be accepted, making the Philippines the second most gay-friendly country in the Asia-Pacific region. [391], Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom, stated in October 2016 that major newspapers and television stations have not critically analyzed Duterte's policies, because "they fear him. List in order of priority the various gaps (factors) you would like to address in the context of your country. In December 2015, Duterte recounted shooting three gunmen dead only months into his first mayoral term in 1988 after they had kidnapped and raped a Chinese girl. [173] This was followed by another October 23, 2017 pronouncement of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that the five-month battle against the terrorists in Marawi had finally ended. [199], In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including the Philippines, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The external sector current account deficit, excluding grants, rose to 6.5% of GDP during FY2018/19 from 4.5% in FY 2017/18. "[260], In December, government data revealed that the Philippines' output of nickel ore fell 16 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, after the country, which is the world's top supplier of the metal, suspended some mines in a clampdown on environmental violations.