Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to continue his deadly crackdown on drugs, telling users they face either “jail or hell”.

Responding to growing international criticism of his violent war on illicit drugs, which is understood to have claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people, the Philippine President said he would not be scared by threats of prosecution.

He urged his critics not to trivialise government efforts by demanding human rights be upheld, telling an audience at his annual state of the nation address on Monday: “Do not try to scare me with prison or the International Court of Justice.

"I'm willing to go to prison for the rest of my life.

"The fight will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting.

"There is a jungle out there, there are beasts out there preying on the innocent, the helpless."

To applause from his national police chief, Ronald del Rosa, Mr Duterte added: “The fight will not stop until those who deal in (drugs) understand that they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell.”

Mr Duterte’s fierce defence of his drugs policy came as thousands of protesters marched to the House of Representatives to demand he deliver on promises made in his first state of the nation speech last year, from holding peace talks with communist insurgents to improving internet speed.

Activists burn an effigy of Mr Duterte in Quezon City, northeast of Manila, where the speech was taking place (EPA)

Human Rights Watch has accused Mr Duterte of “unleashing a human rights calamity” in the Philippines.

“The extraordinary brutality of the Duterte drug war is undeniable,” it said in a statement released last week.

“Many of the victims are found in back alleys or street corners wrapped in packing tape, their bodies bullet-ridden or bearing stab wounds and other signs of torture.”

The 71-year-old President won approval in Congress at the weekend for an extension of martial law in the south to deal with the siege of Marawi by pro-Isis fighters.

The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Show all 9 1 /9 The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On killing drug addicts “These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, don’t go into that, even if you’re a policeman, because I will really kill you. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful” The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Message to China “I will go there on my own with a Jet Ski, bringing along with me a [Phillipino] flag and a pole, and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, ‘Kill me’ ” AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Christmas message to law-breakers “If you do not want to stop, and just continue committing crimes, then this would be your last Merry Christmas” AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On sex life “I was separated from my wife. I’m not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up” AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On the drugs trade “None of my children are into illegal drugs. But my order is, even if it is a member of my family, ‘kill him'" AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting the Pope “We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the pope. I wanted to call him: ‘Pope, son of a wh**e, go home. Do not visit us again’” AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Joke about rape “I saw her face and I thought, 'What a pity... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first” AFP/Getty The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting Barack Obama "Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum" REUTERS The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants "If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you. If you annoy me to the fullest... I will eat you alive. Raw" EPA

The fight against Islamist militants in one of the country’s biggest southern cities continues two months on, with more than 500 dead.

Separately, Mr Duterte’s top ally in Congress has proposed new bills to legalise same-sex marriage and divorce.

“Our citizens should not be excluded from society just because of the person they love. They must also be treated with equality before the law," Pantaleon Alvarez said.

The Vatican and the Philippines are the only states in which divorce is outlawed.

In the most recent opinion polls, Filipinos have overwhelmingly rejected same-sex marriages, with the latest survey in 2015 showing nearly 70 per cent of 1,200 respondents strongly disagreed.

Laws on same-sex marriages have been proposed as far back 2006, but none has gained traction.

However, the latest attempt could gain momentum because it has the endorsement of Mr Alvarez, a close ally of Mr Duterte.