The 16th President of the Philippines has just released a directive that he prefers to be simply addressed as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Yes, no more “His Excellency” before his official title, as was the practice during the terms of Philippine presidents before him.
Just call him President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
The memorandum order was dated July 15, 2016 and issued by the Office of Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea. It orders all Departments, Bureaus, Cabinet members, heads of government agencies, government-owned-and-controlled corporations, government financial institutions and other instrumentalities of the government to refrain from addressing him as “His Excellency” and Cabinet secretaries as “Honorable” in all official communications.
According to the memorandum, as a matter of policy, the President has instructed the following:
1. That the President shall be addressed in all official communications, events or materials as “PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE” only, and without the term “His Excellency,” and
2. All members of the Cabinet shall be addressed in all official communications submitted to the Office of the President as “Secretary” only, and without the term “Honorable.”
However, it cited, all government agencies and offices, in their discretion, may still use the term “Honorable” to address their respective heads of offices in their internal communications and documents.
President Duterte, who also goes by the moniker “Digong,” garnered a record-high 91 percent trust rating in the latest Pulse Asia survey.
