Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER MINDANAO FILE PHOTO
LIPA CITY, Batangas — If elected president, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday his first executive order would be to declare the illegal drug threat as a national security issue and he would then proceed to mobilize elite soldiers and cops in the war against drugs.
The tough-talking mayor who has been leading surveys on presidential candidates, said he would use two divisions of the Philippine Army and 3,000 policemen in the fight against illegal drugs.
“I will need two divisions of the Army that are ranger-trained and 3,000 policemen for the fight against illegal drugs,’’ Duterte, in an interview, said at the sidelines of his campaign sorties in this city.
Duterte, however, did not give specific details of how the operation against illegal drug traffickers would be conducted.
But he repeated his previous statements that anyone involved in the illegal drugs trade would be killed.
“I will give the order that a suspect be killed, if he resists,’’ Duterte said.
In the same interview, Duterte said that the comic book titled “Digong: Ang Kanlungan ng mga Inaapi at Inaabuso,” (Digong: Refuge for the Oppressed and the Abused), depicting him as a savior of the Filipino people was not shown to him before it went to press.
He added that the idea came from his fraternity brothers and he denied it was made to glorify him.
“Nobody is glorifed there,” Duterte said.
In the same interview, Duterte again said that he would create a position for Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo similar to the position he made for deputy mayors during his term as a mayor of Davao City.
He also described Robredo as pretty and would like to appoint her as assistant president.
But when reminded there was no such position in Malacañang, Duterte said: “Leni don’t be offended, but I cannot offer you any post. However, there is so much work in Malacañang that she could do,’’ Duterte said. SFM