The government’s bloody war on illegal drugs will continue no matter how many congressional inquiries will be conducted to discredit his campaign, President Duterte declared Monday night.
The President said he could not care less about the hearings by the country’s lawmakers or by international criticisms on the spate of drug-related killings, promising that he would not stop until all drug lords are neutralized.
“I don’t care whether there is a thousand hearings everywhere. Naka-focus lang ako doon sa problema ko,” the President said in his remarks during a meeting with victims of the Davao bombing in Davao City last Monday night.
“I will not stop until the last pusher in the streets or on the streets are fully exterminated. I will not stop until I shall have. Patayin ko talaga yung mga drug lords. Make no bones about it. I don’t care,” he added.
Duterte argued that he would not interfere with the work of Congress even as he belied the claims made by a witness against him. “Congress, bahala na sila magkagulo na sila. I will stick to my own agenda. Congress, they have their own show. Go ahead, be my guest,” he said.
Duterte claimed that Edgar Matobato, an alleged hitman of a Davao Death Squad, was lying under oath when he accused him of ordering the killings of criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.
“If you know it’s a lie and you egg a person to testify, you are an active participant. ‘Sige, sige mag-testify ka, that is subornation of perjury. It’s a serious crime,” he said in a chance interview with reporters in Davao City.
Matobato appeared in a Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings initiated by Senator Leila de Lima, one of the staunchest critics of the President. So far, De Lima has been kicked out of the Senate committee chairmanship for alleged abuse of authority and has been replaced by Senator Richard Gordon.
The President also warned the United Nations and other international critics to get out of his way as he pursues the relentless campaign against drugs and crimes. He warned that if he does not interdict and address the country’s worsening drug problem, the next generation of Filipinos would suffer.
“I promise you I will suppress criminality, whether there will be a thousand investigations o magpuntahan yang silang Ban Ki-moon dito, I really don’t give a shit,” he said, referring to the UN secretary general. (Genalyn Kabiling)
