FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City—President Rodrigo Duterte blamed previous administrations for their “wrong decisions,” which failed to improve the lives of Filipinos.

In his nine-minute expletive-free speech, Duterte said his predecessors in government made decisions which only favored themselves.

“In the past, our government verged on failure because those who were in the position to help deliberately made wrong decisions which favored only themselves,” he said in a speech during the alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) here.

The Philippines, he said, was now threatened by the effects of “man-made diseases” like illegal mining due to the failure of past administrations. He said Mindanao was now suffering the effects of illegal mining.

“As a child immigrant from Visayas to Mindanao, we hoped for a better life in the so-called ‘Land of Promise,’” he said.

“But now, it is threatened by climate change caused by man-made diseases like extractive industries,” he added.

The chief executive said that in the past years, the economic gap between Filipino families continued to widen while criminality, corruption and the problem of illegal drugs worsened.

READ: Duterte: Gov’t purge to stop corruption

“The rest of the nation is threatened by the widening gap between the rich and the poor, crime, corruption, criminality, and illegal drugs,” he said.

The government, he said, “must now deliver goods and services to really serve the people, not just the interest of the few. “

“That is why I promised during my first State of the Nation Address, I promised you a comfortable life. My administration is working to ensure that basic human services are available to all; food and health needs; water and sanitation; shelter; public safety; education; and economic opportunities,” he said.

READ: Duterte vows clean governance in first SONA

Amid criticisms on his ways of implementing reforms like his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, the President vowed to put the interest of the Filipino people first.

“But we will always uphold the sanctity of the common good as the highest good. And always for the benefit of the next generation,” he said. IDL

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