President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday pressed Philippine lawmakers to reinstate the death penalty, as he vowed to pursue his crackdown on drugs and corruption until he steps down three years from now.
"Believe me, I will end my term fighting," he said in his State of the Nation Address.
Mr Duterte lamented that halfway through his six-year term, "the illegal drug problem persists, corruption continues". He also framed the devastating war of two years ago to retake the city of Marawi, in the country's restive south, as a drug problem.
About 1,000 Muslim militants, many from Indonesia and Malaysia, stormed Marawi in May 2017, and held on to parts of it for five months in what became the Philippines' biggest security crisis in years. By the time the military declared victory, more than 1,000 militants, government troops and civilians had died, half of Marawi had been pulverised into rubble and dust, and about 400,000 people living in and near Marawi forced to flee their homes.
"Drug money killed 175 and wounded 2,000 of my soldiers and policemen in that five-month battle," he said.
Mr Duterte, 74, had promised to end the drug menace in six months when he ran for president in 2016. Soon after taking office, he began a brutal crackdown on the narcotics trade that saw more than 5,500 drug dealers and users killed in anti-drug operations.
The killings sparked international alarm, with the United Nations' top human rights body calling for a probe recently. But instead of easing up, Mr Duterte has vowed to step up his drug war.
He said the situation had worsened, with methamphetamine, known here as "shabu", from across South-east Asia flooding the streets and tonnes of cocaine from South America washing up on the country's coasts. "I am aware we still have a long way to go in our fight against this social menace. That's the reason I advocate the reimposition of the death penalty, for crimes related to illegal drugs," he said.
The Philippines suspended capital punishment in 2006, in what was seen as a move by then President Gloria Arroyo to curry political favour with the Catholic Church.
Mr Duterte said the death penalty should be reinstated not just for drug-related crimes, but for graft too. "(Corruption) allows the social monster to survive," he said.
He conceded that despite firing more than 100 government officials, corruption still plagued the bureaucracy. He cited a recent scam to bilk the state-run health insurer with fake dialysis claims. It was one of thousands of cases involving fictitious claims and abuse that have cost the government at least 100 billion pesos (S$2.6 billion) since 2013.
"I am grossly disappointed... Corruption frustrates. It is exasperating that there are times I think that perhaps it is blood that we need to cleanse and rinse away," he said.
Mr Duterte also spent considerable time defending his pro-China policy in his speech, which ran for close to two hours. He said the Philippines has indisputable rights to waters in the South China Sea that China is also claiming. "The West Philippine Sea is ours. There are no ifs and buts. It is ours."
But he reiterated that he cannot send warships to chase away Chinese fishermen in these waters without risking an armed conflict. "We have to temper it with the times and realities we face today."
Mr Duterte admitted that he has yet to keep most of his promises, saying: "I assume full responsibility for that as president."
But he vowed to make the most of the next half of his term. "Though we can't change the past, we will not squander the future. I will not merely coast along or while away my time during the remaining years of my administration.
"It ain't my style."
