PHILLIPINE President Rodrigo Duterte hailed his signature drug war policy on Monday, but lamented there was a “long way” to go in the controversial crackdown that has killed thousands of people.
In his last State of the Nation address before stepping down next year, Duterte frequently went off script and struggled to follow the autocue as he railed for nearly three hours against communists, child abusers and corrupt officials.
As expected, Duterte used the annual speech to boast about the government’s performance in the past five years — including its handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 1.5 million people and shattered the economy.
But the 76-year-old strongman also devoted large chunks of the rambling address to his “unyielding” anti-narcotics campaign that has officially killed more than 6,000 people.
Rights groups put the figure in the tens of thousands and International Criminal Court prosecutors are seeking to
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