‘I promised it, I will do it,’ Duterte tells drug war critics

FILE – Two victims of summary execution dumped along Legarda Street in front of Sta. Catalina College, Manila. A cardboard near their bodies say that the two victims were drug pushers, holduppers and akyat bahay gang members. INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

DAVAO CITY — President Duterte has shrugged off criticisms against his deadly war on drugs, saying local and international human rights advocates are just wasting their time assailing his strong-handed policies.

Mr. Duterte made the statement after the supposed involvement of the so-called Davao Boys in the deadly anti-drugs raid in Quezon City became public.

In a speech during the commissioning of two Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels at the Sasa Wharf here on Thursday, the President also slammed European rights groups for urging him to change his approach in dealing with the drug problem by treating it as a health issue instead of being a law enforcement problem.

“I promised it. I will do it… I’ve said that I’m placing my life, the presidency itself and the honor that goes with it on the line,” he said.

Mr. Duterte vowed he would fire scores of policemen, including three high-ranking officers for still unknown reasons.

However, he also reiterated his promise that lawmen facing cases while in the performance of their duties will get his backing.

“Time and again, I’ve said, I will protect you. So what’s wrong when I say that ‘I will kill you if you destroy my country?’ Is there something wrong there?” he said.

He said he would attempt to minimize the drug problem, if not to eradicate it, within the remaining four years of his term. He acknowledged that “the drug problem has been there” for a long time already.

The President then went on a lengthy explanation of how dangerous shabu (crystal meth) is by saying he got hold of literature detailing different kinds of abused substances and their effects on the body.

“These cannabis, cocaine and heroin are expensive. [They do] not really impact on the brain because [they come] from a natural organic plant. Shabu is a mixture of deadly chemical,” he said.

He lambasted his detractors for accusing him of being behind the murder of over 10,000 drug suspects as well as foreign rights activists who refer to the drug menace as a health and social issue.