Individuals hooked on “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride may already be beyond redemption, or so the “Punisher” believes.

As if handing down their death sentence, President Duterte said there was little chance that those addicted to the drug could be rehabilitated and saved to lead a productive life.

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“Regarding shabu [use], how can we rehabilitate? During the visit of some Americans… they say that the brain of a human being, [due to] constant [drug] use, [after] more than a dozen times, it begins to shrink,” Duterte said on Sunday during a dinner he hosted for fellow San Beda College of Law graduates in Malacañang.

“According to them, on the largest scale, rehabilitation is no longer a viable option. So what will I do with [them] who are now ruined? How about their families?” he said.

Mr. Duterte, who has been called the “Punisher” for endorsing the killings of those involved in the illegal drug trade, said being hooked on heroin or cocaine was “a better, well addiction” since these substances are “natural” products of poppy, a herbaceous flowering plants also known as the source of opium.

He said he had attended seminars and was well versed on the destructive effects of synthetic drugs.

“Shabu [is] a deadly mix of chemicals. Do you know what of kind water is used to produce it? It’s water for car batteries,” he stressed.

The President’s remarks come just as the number of suspected drug pushers and users killed in police operations and vigilante-style executions in the country continued to spiral. He had earlier vowed to protect policemen engaged in government’s bloody war against illegal drugs from prosecution.

As of July 18, the Inquirer’s “Kill List” showed that 312 individuals have been killed since May 10, a day after the President won the elections.

The President also said drug dependents should not use poverty as a reason for their addiction, pointing out that poor drug addicts usually commit crimes to raise money for their vice.

He also bluntly told them not to expect him to listen to their excuses—unless you are businessman named Peter Lim.

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Lim, who was named by the President as the leader of the drug triad operating in the Visayas region, met with Mr. Duterte in Davao City last week to deny the accusations linking him to the illegal drug trade. Duterte advised Lim to voluntary submit to investigation, but warned he would have him killed if his guilt was proven.

“I cannot stop and listen to your story. I have a country to protect, each and everyone… I have to destroy the drug network in the Philippines,” he had said.

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