Xi congratulates new Philippine president on inauguration

The former 71-year-old Davao city Mayor won the Philippine presidential election held on 9 May with 16,601,997 votes, a lead of nearly 7 million over second-in-place Manuel Roxas.

“The fight will be relentless, and it will be sustained”, he said.

Duterte takes his oath as his daughter Veronica holds the bible during his inauguration as President of the Philippines at the Malacanang Palace in Manila, Philippines.

While mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines, hundreds of people were killed by what human rights groups say were government-linked death squads.

Saying he is ready to start his work for the nation, President Duterte asked both the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help him put a stop to criminality, illegal drugs and corruption.

But he also said that he knows “the limits of the power and authority of the president” and he is aware of “what is legal and what is not”. “I serve everyone. But not only one”, the controversial leader said. Duterte denied involvement with the killings but made little secret of his support for a violent approach to curbing crime. The incoming mayor of Cebu, the Philippines’ second-biggest city, has also paid out Duterte-style bounties to police for killing drug suspects.

After his election win, Mr Duterte also launched a seemingly unprovoked attack against the United Nations.

True to his words, newly-sworn President Rodrigo Duterte seemed to have “metamorphosed” as seen in his short and curse-free speech, a University of the Philippines educator said Friday.

Xi said in a congratulatory letter to Duterte that China and the Philippines are neighbors, and being friendly is a tradition of the two countries that has endured for more than 1,000 years.

Aided by bucketloads of charisma, Duterte was undoubtedly a hugely popular leader of Davao, where numerous city’s almost two million residents welcomed his authoritarian touch in helping to deliver relative peace and economic prosperity.

“I abhor secrecy and instead advocate transparency in all government contracts, projects and business transactions”, the new president said. “You’re slapping us. You should count hours, I don’t like days”, Duterte said.

Appearing Thursday night at a Manila slum to thank his poor voters, Duterte was soon back to his old form, calling on parents to kill the children of other families if they’re drug addicts “so it wouldn’t be that painful”.

Under his predecessor, Benigno Aquino, the country achieved record growth, but at least a third of the population live below the poverty line. “I really believe he can normalize China-Philippine relations”.

A South China Sea dispute between the two nations will be ruled on by global arbitrators on July 12, and Mr Duterte has pledge “a soft landing” instead of inflaming tensions between the two countries. He signed his oath of office afterwards.