On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that illegal narcotics would destroy the Philippines and lead to “dysfunctional” families.
He claimed that organizations like the International Criminal Court found it easy to condemn his drug campaign because they don’t grasp the threat posed by narco politics to Filipinos.
“Kaya nagkaroon ng kaso sa ICC, it is easy for them, ‘tong mga puti hindi nila alam, alam ninyo malapit na tayo ng narco politics,” he said.
“Kaya kapag nagkulong ako, kung gusto niyo ako bisitahin, pumunta kayo ng Hague. Doon ako magpakulong, okay lang basta itong drugs, ‘wag talaga kayong, sisirain talaga ang bayan natin,” he added.
(So there was a case in the ICC. It is easy for them. Those whites don’t know. You know we are close to narco politics. So when I am imprisoned, if you want to visit me, go to The Hague. I’ll be imprisoned there. It’s okay as long as it’s drugs. Our country will be destroyed.)
The billions of pesos worth of drugs seized by police during Duterte’s administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign are proof of the illegal substance’s pervasiveness in the country, according to Duterte.
Duterte says illegal drugs will create ‘dysfunctional’ families
“Drugs will destroy our country maniwala kayo sa akin. I’m sure you know somebody pag ang pamilya [ninyo] bantayan ninyo ito pag naging tatay kayo, pag ang pamilya may isa lang nacontaminate ng droga that family becomes dysfunctional,” Duterte said in front of Filipino athletes competing in the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games earlier this month.
“Mag-away ang mag-asawa quarreling, blaming each other ang tatay at nanay,” he added.
(Drugs will destroy our country. I’m sure you know somebody when [your] family watches over it when you become a father, when the family has only one member contaminated by drugs, that family becomes dysfunctional. Husbands and wives quarrel, father and mother blame each other.)
Duterte was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to eliminate crime and illegal drugs within six months.
His initial months in office were defined by his drug war, which many blame for the thousands of cases of suspected extrajudicial killings.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.