Duterte sets new deadline in drug war: Give me another year

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday asked for one more year to finish his war on illegal drugs.

“Wala akong pakialam basta sabi ko sa droga, I hope to finish the problem maybe give me just another year,” Duterte said at the oath-taking of new presidential appointees and officers from private organizations.

“Babalik ang pulis, babalik ‘yan,” he added, without referring to his new memorandum order reassigning the Philippine National Police to assist the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the drug war. 

On Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that Duterte has ordered the PNP to resume its operations against illegal drugs even as PDEA remains the lead agency in the campaign.

In October, Duterte ordered the PDEA to be the sole agency handling the drug war. 

During his presidential campaign, Duterte said he would solve the country's drug problem in three to six months. In the first months of his presidency, he asked for another six months.

In August this year, he said that the drug problem cannot be solved in a single term.
 —  RSJ/BM, GMA News