Inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte

The inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte as the 16th president of the Philippines took place at around noon (PHT) on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila. The oath of office was administered by the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Bienvenido Reyes. Veronica Duterte, Duterte's daughter with Honeylet Avanceña, held the Bible of the president's late mother Soledad. Veronica was joined by her three step-siblings, namely Sara, Paolo and Sebastian.

It was the fourth Philippine presidential inauguration that was held in Malacañang, the second scheduled since the fourth inauguration of Ferdinand Marcos, held in the midst of the 1986 People Power Revolution.

As requested by Duterte due to a variety of reasons, Leni Robredo, who was elected as the fourteenth vice president, held a separate inauguration at the Quezon City Reception House.

The inauguration was organized jointly by the Presidential Transition Cooperation Team of outgoing President Benigno Aquino III and the Transition Team of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte.

The rites started with a departure honors for outgoing president Benigno Aquino III in the Malacañang Palace grounds, a 21-gun salute was given to Aquino by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in honor for the former commander-in-chief. Aquino left the Malacañang at 11 a.m., to spend his first day returning as a civilian at the Aquino family's residence on Times Street, Quezon City.

After the arrival of Duterte in the Rizal Hall, Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine National Anthem was sung, followed by an interfaith prayer, and a musical performance by Freddie Aguilar who sang "Para sa Tunay na Pagbabago", the official campaign song of Duterte to the tune of one of Aguilar's songs, Ipaglalaban Ko. Senate President Franklin Drilon read the joint resolution by both Houses to congratulate Duterte and Robredo for their victory in the 2016 elections. At exactly 12:00  noon PHT, Duterte took oath as president by Associate Justice Reyes administered the oath of office.

The inaugural speech was delivered mostly in English with a little mix of Filipino and Cebuano. He vowed for the next six years to restore the people's trust and confidence in the government. He also said that the campaign against drugs and criminality would be relentless and sustained within the bounds of the law. Duterte also promised to secure peace agreements with the Moro separatists and the New People's Army, in accordance with the constitutional and legal reforms. He also vowed to eliminate red tape in government agencies by instructing his incoming cabinet members and agency heads to reduce requirements and processing time of applications. He also directed them to avoid changing the rules on any government contracts and transactions.

He also offered his deepest condolences to the people of Turkey, following the 2016 Istanbul Atatürk Airport attack.