One thing to remember, he hates drugs. A LOT.

So, this is Rodrigo Duterte. He's the 16th president of the Philippines and this week marks his first month in the office.

He assumed office on June 30, 2016. He's the first Philippine president from Mindanao — the Philippines' southernmost major group of islands — where he served as Davao City's mayor for over 20 years.

Time magazine called him "The Punisher," for reasons you might already know (but if you don't, read on!). He's also known as Rody, Digong, Du30, and — um, well — P. Diggy.

Noel Celis / Via Getty Images

The first #30DaysOfDu30 were also filled with eclectic choices, certainly.

So the main thing you need to know about Duterte is that he 👏 hates 👏 drugs 👏.

That was the central theme of his presidential campaign: to eliminate crime and corruption, particularly caused by illegal drugs. He vowed to execute a major crackdown in the first six months of his term to bring criminal activity nationwide down to 0%. It's a pretty aggressive timeline, considering the fact that Filipino presidents only get to have a single six-year term. No re-elections.

When he was mayor of Davao City, he was known (and has admitted, time and again) for eliminating drug personalities and individuals suspected of petty crimes in Davao City through extreme measures (i.e. summary execution).

In an interview with Rappler in 2015, Duterte was firm on his extreme measures to abolish criminal activity. "When I said I'll stop criminality, I'll stop criminality," he said. "If I have to kill you, I'll kill you. Personally." Even as he became president-elect, his stances did not waver in the slightest.

Rappler

Vigilante killers across the country have taken Duterte's words seriously. The death toll from extrajudicial killings has risen to 300 — and the number is only expected to grow.

The president has a "zero-tolerance policy against drugs," said Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa. And during his first State of the Nation Address last Monday, Duterte said, "Double your efforts. Triple them if need be."

Getty Images / Via dailymail.co.uk

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