Rodrigo Duterte has been sworn in as the Philippines' 16th president, capping an unlikely journey for a provincial city mayor whose brash man-of-the-people style and pledges to crush crime swamped establishment rivals in May's election.
After making his pledge on Thursday at the presidential palace in Manila, with one hand on the Bible, Duterte delivered a short speech in which he promised a "relentless" and "sustained" fight against corruption, criminality and illegal drugs.
However, he said these ills were only symptoms of a virulent social disease cutting into the moral fibre of society.
"I see the erosion of the people's trust in our country's leaders, the erosion of faith in our judicial system, the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to make the people's lives better, safer and healthier," he said.
Outgoing President Benigno Aquino brought the country an average annual growth rate of 6.3 per cent in his six-year term, the fastest of Southeast Asia's five main economies.
Duterte said on Thursday that he would give specifics of his economic policies later, but some already fear that his defiance of convention could pose a danger to the country's health.
In the election campaign, Duterte railed against the country's political elite and tapped into voters' disgust with a succession of governments that failed to tackle poverty and inequality even when the economy was bounding ahead.
His campaign focused almost entirely on the scourges of murder, rape, drug abuse and corruption, and voters were not deterred by his repeated warnings, in profanity-peppered speeches, to have offenders killed.
Duterte conceded in his maiden speech that many critics believe his methods of fighting crime "are unorthodox and verge on the illegal".
However, the 71-year-old former prosecutor said that he knew right from wrong and would be uncompromising in adhering to due process and the rule of law.
Duterte was mayor for 22 years of the far-south city of Davao, where, according to human rights groups, death squads have killed at least ,400 people since 1998, most of them drug-pushers, addicts, petty criminals and street children.
He denies any involvement in the vigilante killings.
In keeping with his unsophisticated manner, the inauguration ceremony was far less elaborate than those of his predecessors.
Aides said there would be no sumptuous banquet and no champagne corks popping, just a meal of homely dishes for the roughly 600 guests showcasing the country's culinary heritage, including coconut pith spring rolls, a white cheese made from unskimmed carabao milk and durian tartlets.
For his inauguration, Duterte wore a formal 'barong' shirt but without the embroidery that would normally be expected for such an occasion.
It is still not clear if he will keep a promise to spurn the luxury of the palace and commute daily from his hometown in the south of the country, which is two hours from Manila by air.
Originally published as Duterte sworn in as Philippines' president
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