Philippines, 1 July 2016 – Filipinos worldwide went to Twitter to mark the historic moment of the inauguration of the 16th President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, as they shared their thoughts and hopes for the future of the country under the new President’s leadership.

Filipinos sent over 330,000 Tweets about the Presidential and the Vice Presidential inauguration between 30th June, 2016- 1st July 2016, peaking at 1,400 Tweets per minute towards the end of President Duterte’s inauguration speech.

To mark this special inauguration day, Twitter created an emoji of the new President which appears by Tweeting with the hashtag #PresidentDuterte. This is the first time that Twitter has created a special emoji for an elected leader of a nation anywhere in the world. The #PresidentDuterte hashtag and emoji will enable Filipinos to quickly and easily connect with their new President with a simple Tweet.

Rodrigo Duterte Icon

Making the historic moment more engaging for Filipinos, Twitter partnered with the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (@pcdspo) to roll out a personalized message from President Duterte to those who Tweet with the hashtag #PartnerForChange. There was overwhelming positive response on Twitter for the President’s message to work together to build a better Philippines, delighting many citizens to feel like a part of the new change for the country.

https://twitter.com/Tealgates/status/748341351670964224

https://twitter.com/TooMarvylous/status/748503674457042944

“Twitter is happy to support the electoral and democratic process in the Philippines — from the debates, to the elections, and now inauguration day,” sayid Pratiksha Rao, Twitter’s Head for Media Partnerships in South East Asia. “As this new beginning dawns upon the country, Filipinos can continue to use Twitter to get real-time updates on their new government, connect with elected officials, and express their views on politics. We look forward to working with the new Philippines government to use Twitter to increase digital diplomacy with other countries and enhance e-governance with Filipino citizens.”

https://twitter.com/mannypacquiao/status/748371930441457665

On Inauguration Day, Filipinos across the country and elected leaders congratulated and shared their thoughts on the new President of the Philippines and what the future holds for the country:

Several top Tweets from some well known celebrities and famous online personalities encouraging every Filipino to embrace the change.

https://twitter.com/Senyora/statuses/748369512106450948

Several top Tweets from ordinary Filipino citizens articulating their impressions about the occasion, and aspirations for the country under the new administration.

https://twitter.com/NADZGUNDAYA/status/748361897938817024

https://twitter.com/maleedus/status/748382369086840833