Finding Their Roots: In Search of My Duterte Ancestors

It is the knowledge of your ancestors and the origins of where you came from. Even before 2009, I was already doing a lot of research on my family history so it dawn on me, what if trace my family tree back to the earliest known ancestors that I have. I did not expect to stumble upon famous ancestors or even well-off, rich "cousins."

"Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan." - Jose Rizal

I have always been fascinated with family history and genealogy because I never stopped looking for my roots and where I came from. In fact, it was one of the reasons why I took up BA History in university and not got for a potential money-making career with courses like Nursing, Engineering, or Information Technology. I know there is no value for my course in a third-world country like the Philippines but I do know that there is something money can't buy.

It is the knowledge of your ancestors and the origins of where you came from. Even before 2009, I was already doing a lot of research on my family history so it dawns on me, what if trace my family tree back to the earliest known ancestors that I have. I did not expect to stumble upon famous ancestors or even well-off, rich "cousins." Some may say if I earn money out of it, the answer is NO. Others will wonder what I'm going to do with the data, the answer is just plain knowledge. I want to know and I want to share it with the next generation.

The sad thing is that people don't bother knowing about their heritage. No one wants to talk about stories from the past, people who have died a long time ago or reminiscing painful memories of the past. I can't blame them but putting a lid on your past is just erasing your identity and the identities of future descendants from now on. I want to preserve history.

So after so many hours and years of doing this, I found out that my parents are both connected by a single-family. And to my surprise, my father's grandmother's lineage is descended from Juliana Duterte and my mom's grandmother's lineage is descended from both Escolastico Duterte Sr. and Venancia Duterte (whose daughter Prudencia Duterte is the wife of Escolastico). Juliana and Venancia are sisters and daughters of Francisco Duterte and Romualda Fulgencia.

My Paternal Line

My Maternal Line

The truth of the matter is, I never expected that our current president Rodrigo Duterte would become the most powerful man in the country. And I realized that I'm somehow related to him, it may not be a direct relation but I'm related nevertheless.

President Rodrigo Duterte's family tree

Interestingly, the surname DUTERTE is derived from the French word du tertre, which means "from a hillock" or "of rising ground." If I were French, I would have pronounced it as "Du-tey." And the French lineage can be traced back to Pierre Duterte (1670-1740) with his descendants still living in Tourcoing, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.

Click the picture to see the high-resolution image

If you're tracing your family tree as well and you may want to collaborate or share your notes with me, don't hesitate to leave a message below. You can visit our Facebook fan page or website for more information.