Duterte on human rights advocates: Give them Valium

So that they would calm down, human rights advocates critical of the government's drug war should be given Valium, President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday.

"Ang itong mga human rights bilhan mo lang ng medisina pangkalma, Valium. Painumin mo lang, patulugin mo lang 'yang mga 'yan,” he said at the oath-taking of new presidential appointees and officers from private organizations.

Duterte once again slammed the human rights advocates for linking his administration's war on drugs to extrajudicial killings supposedly without proof.

Citing public clamor, Duterte has ordered the Phililippine National Police (PNP) to resume its anti-drug operations, two months after he officially tasked the  Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to lead the anti-drug campaign.

With this order, Duterte said he expects human rights group to once again make noise.

Duterte, who has repeatedly bashed personalities who openly spoke against the drug war, accused human rights groups of resorting to "stunts" without knowing the real cause of the drug problem.

"If it's a social issue, you have to you know, pag-aralan mo why it happened. Where did it start? How did it happen to the Republic of the Philippines? Hindi magpakita ka lang the stunt tapos uwi ka sa inyo," he said. —KBK, GMA News