Amid continued criticisms over alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte assured the public during his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday that he values human life “the way I value mine.”

“To the critics against this fight, your efforts will be better spent if you use the influence, moral authority and ascendancy of your organizations over your respective sectors to educate the people on the evils of illegal drugs instead of condemning the authorities and unjustly blaming for every killing that bloodies this country,” Duterte said in his speech delivered during a joint of session at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

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“But don’t get me wrong. I value human life the way I value mine. Each life that is snuffed out translates into future generations lost. It is like cracking the acorn from which oak tree grow, which in turn produce the seeds to complete the cycle of life in perpetuity ,” he said.

Duterte also vowed to continue his administration’s fight against illegal drugs “no matter how long it takes.”

“Despite international pressure and local pressure, the fight will not stop until those who deal with it understand that they have to cease, they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell. And I will make sure, very sure that they will not have the luxury of enjoying the benefits of their greed and madness.”

“I don’t intend to loosen the leash in the campaign or lose the fight against illegal drugs. Neither do I intend preside over the destruction of the Filipino youth by being timid and tentative in my decisions and actions,” the President added./rga

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