| Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the military’s Camp Tecson to talk to soldiers in San Miguel, Bulacan in northern Philippines September 15, 2016. REUTERS photo |
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he needed six more months for his war on drugs, saying he only realized how bad the country’s narcotics problem was after taking office over two months ago.
Duterte, a former crime-busting mayor of the southern city of Davao, won the presidency in May promising to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers in three to six months.
More than 3,500 people – or about 47 per day – have been killed in the past 10 weeks in connection with the illegal drugs trade, nearly two thirds by unknown assailants and the rest in legitimate police operations, according to local police.
Though popular at home, Duterte’s sometimes violent anti-drug rhetoric and the thousands of killings have alarmed rights groups and sparked the concern of the United States, a former colonial power and close ally, and the United Nations.
Duterte has dismissed criticism of his war on drugs, including allegations made by rights groups at home and abroad of extrajudicial killings.