MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte stressed that government forces do not need to stage a coup to oust him, saying he is ready to step down if they give him a good reason to do so.

“There are talks about coup d’état, mutiny; they want to oust me. The irony of it all is I really want to step down,” Duterte said during the oath-taking of new career executive service officers at Malacañang yesterday.

Duterte said he once informed military and police officials of his intention to resign because of the serious corruption problem in government.

“In front of all the officers of the police and the Armed Forces I said, ‘For all the efforts I made against corruption, I am already tired since I cannot stop corruption, I am now offering to step down as President,’” Duterte said.

“Not because I am afraid of you or I am afraid to die. We will all die. I said if you do it, do not do it with a melodramatic thing. Do not bring your armor there outside. You just can call me, we will have coffee and I think if I like your strategy, your plan, you can have it,” he added.

His critics find a lot of fault in him but as far as Duterte is concerned, he just committed one sin.

“What are your sins? Me? I told the military ‘what are my sins?’ Did I steal money? Even just one peso? Did I prosecute somebody I sent to jail? My only sin is extrajudicial killings,” Duterte declared.

Duterte, whose controversial war on illegal drugs has left more than 4,000 people dead, went on to justify the killings, saying they were directed at “fools.”

The President also justified his controversial crackdown on illegal drugs, saying the problem has contaminated several Filipinos.

“There are things that I have to do because I have to do it. Who will do it? You know, the police then, they said, before you Duterte, there was really no killing, no extrajudicial (killings). Look what happened,” Duterte said.

“When I became President, I insisted on opening the records. Many thousands – hundreds of thousands came out. They are thin, all of them are thin, you saw them on TV,” he added.

Duterte described as “ulol” (fools) critics who raise concerns on the anti-narcotics campaign.

“Those fools, that black, who was that? I will strike your head with that prosecutor,” Duterte said, referring to Fatou Bensouda, the International Criminal Court prosecutor who announced that the tribunal would look into the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Despite claims the drug campaign encourages extrajudicial killings, Duterte’s war on drugs remains popular in the Philippines, based on latest surveys.

Duterte also criticized Liberal Party president and opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who he said was always talking as if he was faultless.

Duterte said he would just return to his hometown in Davao City if he relinquishes the presidency.

“I will give up everything. I said the irony of it all is you want to kick me out, I am just looking for a reason, really, I’m going home, I’m tired. That’s true,” the President said.

“Really cannot beat corruption no matter what I do. It begins with something like an inaugural thing, the breaking of the ground or the cutting of whatever. It’s given the widest publicity. Three months after, they are facing the ombudsman and then Sandigan(bayan),” he added.

Duterte earlier revealed how some soldiers are allegedly conniving with the political opposition and forces who want to oust him as part of the so-called Red October plot supposedly being orchestrated by the communists.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said all the major service commands have dismissed reports of alleged recruitment among the ranks by forces seeking to oust the President.

Arevalo said there is also no need to conduct a loyalty check.

Former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno denied and branded as fake news allegations that she and her supporters are part of a coalition seeking to oust Duterte.

Sereno took exception to the claims made by AFP deputy chief for operations Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade who said in an interview over ANC on Sunday that among the groups pushing for Duterte’s ouster is the Coalition for Justice (CFJ) which supports Sereno.

Sereno said the military and other security forces should be careful in coming out with intelligence reports implicating her supporters in an ouster plot.

The moment she was ousted as chief justice on May 11, Sereno said what she has been pushing for is genuine transformation, not a coup.

Sereno said only God and the 1987 Constitution can say when Duterte should leave office.

Sereno urged the police and military not to allow themselves to be used by the government that would cause more suffering to the poor. – with Michael Punongbayan, Emmanuel Tupas