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Duterte says he’ll ‘think about resignation’ if he ‘cannot control drugs’


President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he will consider resigning from his post if his administration will not be able to control the problem of illegal drugs in the country.

“If I cannot control drugs, then maybe it is time for me to think about resignation,” Duterte said in a speech during the 67th Anniversary of the First Scout Ranger Regiment in San Miguel, Bulacan.

“‘Pag hindi ko kaya ito, bababa talaga ako. Sabihin ko sa inyo. O, why should I be there? Only for the noise? I do not need it. I have enough accolades and praises all my life... Kaya kung hindi ko ito kaya, aalis ako,” he said.

During his presidential campaign, Duterte promised to solve the drug problem within the first six months of his presidency.

In August this year, Duterte said the drug problem cannot be fixed by one president in a single term. He said then that he only realized the extent of the drug problem when he became chief executive.

Duterte had made repeated remarks in the past that he will resign from his post if accusations of corruption against him or his relatives will be proven.

In December 2016, he said he would quit the presidency if anyone from his family engages in corrupt activities.

Two months after, he said he will resign if opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV can prove the allegation that he had bank transactions amounting to P2.2 billion from 2006 to 2015. 

He also said the same last August when his son’s name, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, was first mentioned in a legislative inquiry on the P6.4-billion shabu shipment controversy.

Duterte meanwhile reiterated that he was “inclined” to return the lead role of the campaign against illegal drugs to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“I have not yet signed the executive order. But I am inclined to call back the police and join again in the drug war,” he said.

It was just a month ago when Duterte himself tasked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to be the sole agency in charge of anti-drug operations. —RSJ/KBK, GMA News

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