Rodrigo Duterte Net Worth: Philippine President Is Worth PHP28.5M, 2,800% Increase In 10 Years

Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has a net worth of PHP28.5 million. Here is how he built his fortune.

The Philippine president was elected in the 2016 elections, replacing predecessor Benigno Aquino III. He won via a landslide victory as Filipinos sought for a brand new leadership at the time. Duterte gave controversial promises, making his countrymen believe that change was indeed coming to the Philippines, a country mired in decades-old corruption practices.

President Duterte hails from Davao City in Mindanao. He was a longtime mayor of Davao City and he gained prominence nationwide due to his strict implementation of the law. Although many protest the way he governed as mayor, most of the people in Davao claimed that nothing was wrong with the way he led the city and even called it necessary.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, or PRRD for short, has three children with estranged wife Elizabeth Zimmerman, namely: Sara, Paolo and Sebastian. According to Rappler, Sara Duterte is now the mayor of Davao City while Paolo Duterte is former vice mayor. Political dynasty is nothing new to the Philippines and political clans are known to have a stronghold in provinces for many years.

It is interesting to note that President Duterte’s net worth in 2008 was only PHP1.08 million. But in 2017, it skyrocketed to PHP28.5 million. The same can be said about the net worth of his two children who hold and held public office: Mayor Sara Duterte’s net worth went from PHP13.8 million in 2007 to PHP44.8 million in 2017; and ex-Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte’s PHP11.75 million from 13 years ago skyrocketed to PHP27.7 million in 2017, as well.

Notably, the salary of public officials of the Philippines increased in recent years, as mandated by The Salary Standardization Law IV (SSL IV) signed by former President Aquino. The bill aims to make the salary of civil servants at par with those from the private sector to entice bright people to serve the country.

In a report published by Ecomparemo, the increase in salary were to be done in four trenches. The first trench was given in 2016 while the fourth and last trench was expected to come in 2019. Under the law, the salary of the president of the Philippines was set to increase from PHP160,924 under the first trench to PHP399,739 in the fourth trench.

Per Forbes, the 75-year-old strongman from Davao often makes headlines due to his controversial remarks. He once called ex-U.S. President Barack Obama a "son of a whore." Even though President Duterte throws controversial remarks here and there, his administration continues to enjoy a high popularity and satisfaction rate in surveys. This shows that the Filipinos still support the president amid an international backlash due to the way he governs.

The Philippines is currently battling the COVID-19 pandemic. It implemented a lockdown which started in March 2020. The government aims to lift the Enhanced Community Quarantine by May 15. However, the country still encounters problems in flattening the curve.