Duterte reiterates war on drugs to be unrelenting

July 24, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated on Monday his promise to be unrelenting in the fight against illegal drugs despite continuous criticisms locally and internationally. In his second State of the Nation Address, Duterte said critics should instead use their influence to educate the people on the evils of illegal drugs. "That is why, I have resolved that no matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will continue because that is the root cause of so much evil and so much suffering that weakens the social fabric and deters foreign investments from pouring in. The fight will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting," he said in the two-hour speech. Despite international and local pressure, Duterte said the fight will not stop until those who "deal in it understand that they have to cease, they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell. "And I will make sure, very sure that they will not have the luxury of enjoying the benefits of their greed and madness." Duterte said he did not intend to loosen the leash in the campaign or lose the fight against illegal drugs. "Neither do I intend to preside over the destruction of the Filipino youth by being timid and tentative in my decisions and actions," he said. His message to the critics of his fight against illegal drugs due to the alleged extrajudicial killings, the President said, "Your efforts will be better spent if you use the influence, moral authority and ascendancy of your organizations over your respective sectors to educate the people on the evils of illegal drugs instead of condemning the authorities and unjustly blaming for every killing that bloodies this country." Thousands of individuals allegedly involved in illegal drugs have been killed since Duterte assumed office in June last year. Duterte, however, stressed he values human life. "But don’t get me wrong. I value human life the way I value mine. Each life that is snuffed out translates into future generations lost. It is like cracking the acorn from which an oak tree grows - which, in turn, produce the seeds to complete the cycle of [life in] perpetuity," he said. "There is a jungle out there. There are beasts and vultures preying on the helpless, the innocent [and] the unsuspecting. I will not allow the ruin of the youth, the disintegration of families and the retrogression of communities, forced by criminals whose greed for money is as insatiable as it is devoid of moral purpose. Neither will I be immobilized into inaction by the fear that I will commit an act that will expose me to public condemnation or legal prosecution," he stressed. Duterte warned the drug syndicates if they continue "to harm the children in whose hands the future of this Republic is entrusted, I will hound you to the very gates of hell." He reiterated his call to his critics to join him in the fight against illegal drugs and all forms of criminality. "The government, equipped with legal authority, and you, with the moral ascendancy over the sector you represent, can do so much, and hopefully eradicate this social scourge that plagues us no end," he said. "Look beyond your biases, your prejudices, your ambition [and] your political agenda. The search for change will begin and end only when we look into ourselves and find it within." (Celerina Monte/DMS)