No more ‘His Excellency’: just call him President Duterte

Change has come in more ways than one as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte tells everyone in government to drop the words “His Excellency” from all official communications, events, or materials.

 

“HIS EXCELLENCY” NO MORE. In a memorandum issued on July 15, Duterte asked everyone in government to not address him as “His Excellency. TOTO LOZANO/PND

 

A memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea was issued on July 15, 2016 saying that Duterte shall only be addressed as “President Rodrigo Roa Duterte” in all official communications, events, or materials.

 

A COPY OF THE memorandum telling everyone in government to not address the President as “His Excellency” and his Cabinet secretaries as “Honorable.” File courtesy of the Presidential Communications Operations Office

 

Cabinet secretaries will also get a similar treatment, i.e. any communications sent to the Office of the President with a Cabinet secretary involved will no longer have the term “Honorable.”

“His/Her Excellency” and “Honorable” are honorifics used to address the President and any of his Cabinet secretaries respectively.

“Honorable,” however, may still be used to address heads of office in their internal communications and documents across all government agencies and offices if they so choose.

 

Source: Presidential Communications Operations Office, The Standard, Inquirer.net, Rappler, GMA News Online, MB Online