Rodrigo Duterte commits to the war against illicit drugs at the address of the State of the Union of the Philippines

. 19659004] Thousands of women, students, leftist activists and ecclesiastical groups protest in front of Congress

Duterte's critics say the war has led to thousands of deaths. Extrajudicial executions in the last two years

In response to his annual State of the Union address at a joint session of Congress, Mr. Duterte reaffirmed his determination to fight against drugs illicit as he had done during his first two years in office.

to its detractors who say that its so-called war on drugs has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial executions.

million. Duterte said that human rights defenders should rise up against drug traffickers as much as they attack it.

"The illegal war on drugs will not be put away, but it will be as relentless and freezing as the day it started," he said.

photo:
President Duterte told the protesters that he was concerned about "human lives" and not about "rights". (AP: Bullit Marquez)

There was a notable absence of the usual jokes, threats and ad libs in Mr. Duterte's address, with the chief sticking to his scripts.

The Philippine leader told critics that they were misguided and had not yet made a convincing argument for him to stop the campaign.

"If you think I can be deterred from continuing this fight because of protests, your protests, which are otherwise misguided, then you have it all wrong," he said. Thousands of women, students, left-wing activists and faith-based groups gathered in Congress to denounce Duterte's anti-poor policies. widespread violations of human rights.

Photo:
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is engaged in his war on drugs. (AP: Aaron Favila)

In his 50-minute speech, which, unlike his previous two speeches that he read in full, Mr. Duterte reiterated that his foreign policy was unhelpful. not combine with a single power, but with historical adversaries. China has been "revitalized", bringing unprecedented cooperation in the fight against transnational crime and the dismantling of clandestine laboratories.

million. Duterte also asked Congress to pass a law to give employment contracts to millions of people. to protect the environment and to give the Muslim minority the right to self-determination.

ABC / Reuters

Topics:

world politics,

Government and politics,

the abuse of drugs and substances,

community-and-society,

law-crime-and-justice

criminality,

drug-related offenses,

philippines