Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he will issue an executive order for military support in his fight against illicit drugs and says he will "kill more" people if he has to.
The mercurial leader ruled out declaring martial law and said he did not need extra powers, but wanted to bring the Armed Forces of the Philippinesinto his drugs war because he could no longer trust law enforcement agencies.
All police operations in the drug crackdown were suspended on Monday due to deep-rooted corruption. Duterte has placed an anti-drugs agency in charge of the campaign and has said he wants the armed forces to play a supportive role.
"I still have to write the, whether it is a proclamation or an executive order, but I've taken in the AFP and raised the issue of drugs as a national security threat, so that I can call on the armed forces to assist," he said in a speech in Davao.
"I have limited warm bodies but so many wars to fight," he said.
Duterte did not say what the remit of the military would be in the drugs campaign, or give any indication of the number of troops that would be involved, but said they were necessary.
Some 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte launched his war on drugs seven months ago, more than 2,500 in what police say were shootouts during raids and sting operations.
Share
