Maverick Duterte takes office as new Philippine president
Rodrigo Duterte was sworn Thursday as president of the Philippines, with many hoping his maverick style will energize the country but others fearing he could undercut one of Asia's liveliest democracies amid his threats to kill criminals en masse.
The 71-year-old former prosecutor and longtime mayor of southern Davao city won a resounding victory in May's elections in his first foray into national politics.
Duterte, who began a six-year term, captured attention with promises to cleanse his poor Southeast Asian nation of criminals and government crooks within six months — an audacious pledge that was welcomed by many crime-weary Filipinos but alarmed human rights watchdogs and the dominant Roman Catholic Church.
"There are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality, the sale and use of illegal drugs and corruption. They say that my methods are unorthodox and verge on the illegal," Duterte said. He added: "The fight will be relentless and it will be sustained."
"As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not. My adherence to the due process and the rule of law is uncompromising," he said to a loud applause.
Shortly after Duterte's election win, police launched an anti-drug crackdown under his name, leaving dozens of mostly poor drug-dealing suspects dead in gunfights or in mysterious circumstances. The killings provided a fearsome backdrop to Duterte's rise.
After his resounding victory, he promised to mellow down on the vulgarity and promised Filipinos will witness a "metamorphosis" once he becomes president. Days before his swearing in, however, he was still warning "If you destroy my country, I will kill you," in a speech this week. In a country long ruled by wealthy political clans, Duterte rose from middle-class roots. His brash style has been likened to that of presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, although he detests the comparison and says the American billionaire is a bigot and he's not.
Duterte's initial foreign policy pronouncements point to potential problems for Washington at a crucial time for the region. An arbitration tribunal in The Hague is scheduled to rule July 12 on a case in which the Philippine government questioned the validity of China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has refused to join the arbitration.
Duterte has suggested he will keep the U.S. at arm's length and has shown readiness to mend frosty ties with China. Those potential shifts have raised the specter of another difficult phase in more than a century of a love-hate relationship between the Philippines and its former American colonizer.
A senior Philippine diplomat said American and Australian officials are curious how Duterte will handle relations with their governments, which have enjoyed strong ties with Aquino, who bolstered security relations as a way to counter China's assertiveness in disputed South China Sea territories.
The 71-year-old former prosecutor and longtime mayor of southern Davao city won a resounding victory in May's elections in his first foray into national politics.
Duterte, who began a six-year term, captured attention with promises to cleanse his poor Southeast Asian nation of criminals and government crooks within six months — an audacious pledge that was welcomed by many crime-weary Filipinos but alarmed human rights watchdogs and the dominant Roman Catholic Church.
"There are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality, the sale and use of illegal drugs and corruption. They say that my methods are unorthodox and verge on the illegal," Duterte said. He added: "The fight will be relentless and it will be sustained."
"As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not. My adherence to the due process and the rule of law is uncompromising," he said to a loud applause.
Shortly after Duterte's election win, police launched an anti-drug crackdown under his name, leaving dozens of mostly poor drug-dealing suspects dead in gunfights or in mysterious circumstances. The killings provided a fearsome backdrop to Duterte's rise.
After his resounding victory, he promised to mellow down on the vulgarity and promised Filipinos will witness a "metamorphosis" once he becomes president. Days before his swearing in, however, he was still warning "If you destroy my country, I will kill you," in a speech this week. In a country long ruled by wealthy political clans, Duterte rose from middle-class roots. His brash style has been likened to that of presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, although he detests the comparison and says the American billionaire is a bigot and he's not.
Duterte's initial foreign policy pronouncements point to potential problems for Washington at a crucial time for the region. An arbitration tribunal in The Hague is scheduled to rule July 12 on a case in which the Philippine government questioned the validity of China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has refused to join the arbitration.
Duterte has suggested he will keep the U.S. at arm's length and has shown readiness to mend frosty ties with China. Those potential shifts have raised the specter of another difficult phase in more than a century of a love-hate relationship between the Philippines and its former American colonizer.
A senior Philippine diplomat said American and Australian officials are curious how Duterte will handle relations with their governments, which have enjoyed strong ties with Aquino, who bolstered security relations as a way to counter China's assertiveness in disputed South China Sea territories.