Duterte was born on March 28, 1945, in Maasin. His maternal grandfather was a Chinese immigrant from Xiamen, Fujian. His father was Vicente G. Duterte (1911-1968), a Cebuano lawyer, and his mother, Soledad Duterte (nee Roa; 1916-2012), was a school teacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan and a civic leader of Maranao descent. Duterte's father was mayor of Danao, Cebu, and subsequently the provincial governor of (the then-undivided) Davao province.

After the 1986 People Power Revolution, Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor by president Corazon Aquino. In 1988, he ran for mayor and won, serving until 1998. He set a precedent by designating deputy mayors that represented the Lumad and Moro peoples in the city government, which was later copied in other parts of the Philippines. In 1998, because he was term-limited to run again for mayor, he ran for the House of Representatives and won as Congressman of the 1st District of Davao City (under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino coalition). In 2001, he ran again for mayor in Davao and was again elected for his fourth term. He was re-elected in 2004 and in 2007.  In 2013, Davao City sent rescue and medical teams to Tacloban to give aid to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, locally known in the country as Typhoon Yolanda. Financial assistance was also given to Bohol and Cebu for the earthquake victims.  In 2010, he was elected vice mayor, succeeding his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was elected as mayor. He has been offered the Interior Secretary post 4 times, by presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno S. Aquino III but rejected all of them.  Duterte also passed the city's Women Development Code, which aims "to uphold the rights of women and the belief in their worth and dignity as human beings". Duterte banned swimsuit competitions in beauty pageants in Davao City. Duterte also gained prominence for supporting the first-ever Gawad Kalinga Village inside a jail facility which is only located in Davao City. It is a home-type jail with ten cottages built inside the compound, which now serve as home for women inmates.

who else followed his ways
his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio,