Philippine President calls on military to eradicate drug crime.

On September 17, President Rodrigo Duterte called on the military to join the war on drugs after Philippine police admitted they could not complete their mission within six months.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Inquirer

Speaking to soldiers at Camp Elchor de la Cruz, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he might not be able to prosecute all drug criminals because there are so many of them. Therefore, he called on the military to join forces in this mission, according to Inquirer.

He also provided a list of names of officials involved in drug trafficking, including Reynaldo Flores, the head of the town of Naguilian in La Union province.

Besides Flores, another "valuable target" was Vicente Loot, a retired senior police officer, one of the five people he publicly claimed were linked to drug trafficking in July.

"What does this mean? It means that wherever he's appointed, he's involved in drugs there," President Duterte said.

Duterte said the rest of the list includes members of parliament, mayors, provincial governors, state governors, council members, and even police officers.

During his election campaign, the Philippine president promised to eradicate drug-related crime within the first six months of his term. However, the Philippine national police chief admitted on September 16 that this goal would be difficult to achieve.

President Duterte is visiting military camps to explain to soldiers the aggressive anti-drug campaign he has initiated.

3,000 people believed to be involved in drug trafficking have been killed in the Philippines since President Duterte came to power and launched his anti-drug campaign.

According to VNE