First days

Duterte takes his oath of office as the 16th President of the Philippines atMalacaang Palace while his children
look on, June 30, 2016.

Duterte's presidency began following his inauguration on June 30, 2016 at the Rizal Ceremonial
Hall of the Malacaang Palace in Manila, which was attended by more than 627 guests.[67] Shortly
after his inauguration, Duterte held his first Cabinet meeting to lay out their first agenda, which
included the country's disaster risk reduction management, decongesting the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport in Manila, the country's main gateway, and expressed his ideas and concerns
regarding the territorial disputes in the South China Sea prior to the announcement of the verdict of
the Philippines' arbitration case against China over the issue,[68][69] which the Philippines later won.
[70]
Four days later, on July 4, Duterte issued his first executive orderentitled "Reengineering the
Office of the President Towards Greater Responsiveness to the Attainment of Development Goals",
allowing his Cabinet Secretary, Leoncio Evasco, Jr., to supervise over several agencies that focus
on poverty reduction.[71] On July 23, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 2 also known as
the Freedom of Information Order.[72]

Duterte meets with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, September 8, 2016

On August 1, 2016, Duterte launched a 24-hour complaint office accessible to the public through a
nationwide complaint hotline, 8888, while also changing the country's emergency telephone
number from 117 to 911.[73] On August 7, Duterte delivered his I am sorry for my
country speechwherein he revealed the names of more than a hundred government officials that
were discovered to be involved in illegal drug trade. On the same day, Duterte approved the burial of
former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery in Taguig scheduled for September 18,
saying that Marcos is qualified for the burial at the cemetery due to him being a "former president
and a soldier". The decision drew criticism from various Marcos critics, particularly victims of abuse
during the Martial Law era and participants of the People Power Revolution among others, claiming
that Marcos is unfit to be buried at that particular cemetery due to his policies that were regarded
as dictatorial.[74]