MANILA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to continue his campaign to combat illegal drugs and stamp out corruption in government.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address before the joint Congress Duterte urged the congress anew to pass the death penalty law, saying that illegal drugs and corruption continue to persist in his country.
"Believe me, I will end my term fighting," said the 74-year-old Philippine leader who took office in June 2016, lamenting that it pains him to say that Filipinos have not learned their lessons.
"The illegal drug problem persists. Corruption continues and emasculates the courage we need to sustain our moral recovery initiatives," he said.
"I am aware that we still have a long way to go in our fight against this social menace," Duterte said. However, he added "the drugs will not be crushed unless we continue to eliminate the corruption that allows this social monster to survive."
He stressed the need to reimpose martial law.
"(That is) the reason why I advocate the imposition of the death penalty for crimes related to illegal drugs. I respectfully request Congress to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes related to drugs as well as plunder," he said.
Duterte has been advocating the reimposition of the death penalty, which the Philippines suspended in 2006, noting it will instill fear among criminals.
Duterte's political allies in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 18th Congress have vowed to support Duterte's wish.
The 17th Congress senators rejected the passage of the bill, while the House of Representatives passed it on third and final reading.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Oscar Albayalde said on July 1 that least 50 policemen have died and 144 wounded since the Duterte administration launched its war on drugs in 2016.
Albayalde said the 50 policemen were killed during the 153,276 anti-drug operations launched by the police. The operations resulted in the arrest of 240,565 drug suspects, he added.
Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has carried out a war on drugs. He vowed to eradicate illegal drugs until his term ends in 2022.
