Manny Pacquiao has admitted he took "all kinds of drugs" - but supports a crackdown on dealers which has led to more than 3,000 deaths in the Philippines.

The boxing star, who was elected as a senator in May, said he backed president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs and claimed that the leader was chosen by God to "discipline the people".

Since taking office in June, Mr Duterte has put the crackdown at the core of presidency and said it will not stop "until the last drug manufacturer is killed".

According to police, 3,171 drug dealers and users have been killed - two thirds by unknown assailants and the rest in police operations.

Image: President Duterte is a close ally of Pacquiao

Pacquiao, 37, said: "The president, he doesn't know my experience with drugs.


"I tried drugs…many kinds of drugs, all kinds of drugs."

The boxer said his substance abuse happened for years "before I became a champion".

He added it was unfair to blame the drugs-related death toll on Mr Duterte.

Pacquiao said: "God put him there for a reason, for purpose - to discipline the people.

"In the past administrations, people didn't respect the law, the leader, the authorities.

"What Duterte is trying to do is let the people know - and put it in their heart and minds - that you need to respect the laws of the land."

'Shoot Him Dead': Duterte's Drugs War

The boxer, who is the godfather of Mr Duterte's grandson, is a close ally of the president.

In his first speech in the senate, Pacquiao backed Mr Duterte's drugs crackdown by calling for the death penalty to be reinstated for dealers.

Pacquiao also fronted a motion to oust the chair of a high-profile committee examining the president's links to vigilante death squads in Davao.

The 37-year-old's comments come after Mr Duterte sparked outrage by calling Barack Obama a "son of a whore" while warning the US president not to question him about extrajudicial killings.

Despite the fall-out, Pacquiao asserted that the Philippine president is "a nice guy".

He said: "(Mr Duterte) is a respectful person, a hospitable person, a friendly person."