He graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the Lyceum of the Philippines University and obtained a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972. He passed the bar exam that same year. He served as special counsel and later on became a city prosecutor at the City Prosecutor’s Office in Davao City from 1977 until 1986, when he was appointed as OIC Vice Mayor of Davao City.
He ran and successfully won the mayoralty post in 1988. Since then, He has not lost an election. He is among the longest-serving mayors in the Philippines and has been Mayor of Davao City for seven terms, totaling more than 22 years. He has also served as vice-mayor and as congressman of the city’s first congressional district.
On May 9, 2016, He won a landslide victory as the Philippine’s 16th President. He was officially proclaimed by a joint session of the Philippine Congress on May 30, 2016. He is the first Mindanaoan President and the first local chief executive to get elected straight to the Office of the President.
