Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Philippine House of Representatives in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, July 24, 2017. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that the war on drugs will continue despite international pressure from world leaders and human rights groups. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that the war on drugs will continue despite international pressure from world leaders and human rights groups.
The fight against illicit drugs will be "unremitting as it will be unrelenting," the president said in his second annual State-of-the-Nation Address before Congress.
"There is a jungle out there, there are beasts out there preying on the innocent, the helpless," Duterte said, adding the drug menace "is the root cause of so much evil and so much suffering that weakens the social fabric and deters foreign investments from pouring in."
"The fight will not stop until those who deal in it understand that they have to cease, that they have to stop because the alternative is either jail or hell," Duterte said.
The Philippine president said he will not allow the "destruction of youth." "I value human life the way I value mine, You harm the children and I will hound you to the very gates of hell," he said.
Duterte also urged mining companies to exercise "extreme care" when extracting the country's mineral resources, saying "the protection of environment must be made a priority ahead of mining and all other activities that adversely affect (the environment) in one way or another."
"This policy is non-negotiable," Duterte said. "At this point in my administration, it's possible that we shall put to a stop to the extraction and exportation of our mineral resources for process abroad and importing them back to the Philippines."
He threatened to raise taxes imposed on mining firms if they fail to restore the damage mining has inflicted on the communities ravaged by mining.
"Either I will raise taxes to compensate for the suffering and the agony of the affected communities or you have to come up with substitute. Either spend to restore the virginity of the source or I will tax you to death," Duterte warned.
Duterte's report to the nation took place as war rages in Marawi City where government security forces battle with the remaining 80 heavily armed extremists allied with the Islamic State group that attacked the southern Philippine city on May 23.
The 63-day fighting has so far killed more than 600 people, including nearly 100 civilians, and displaced around 500,000 civilians, according to government data.
Government officials and diplomats attended the annual event, including former presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo. Duterte's predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino, did not attend.
Duterte, who took office in June last year, has declared a 60-day martial law in the entire southern island of Mindanao to quell a siege by terrorists. The Philippine Congress granted last Saturday Duterte's wish to extend martial law until the end of this year.
The president also defended his position on martial law in his State of the Nation Address, saying, "I declared martial law in Mindanao because I believe that was the fastest way to quell rebellion at the least cost of lives and property."
"Martial law and the suspension of habeas corpus enable the military to arrest, detain and question suspected members and sympathizers of rebellion at the least cost of lives and property," Duterte said.
The 72-year-old Philippine leader remains popular despite criticism hurled at him for waging a war on drugs that has left suspects dead and for charting a foreign policy independent of the United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines.
