Duterte claims he fulfilled most promises to Filipinos

President Rodrigo Duterte claimed Thursday that he fulfilled most of his promises during his tenure as chief executive.

"My term is nearing its end, I can say with a little bit of pride, halos lahat na pinangako ko, natupad ko (almost all of the things I promised, I was able to fulfill)," Duterte said during the inauguration of 143 Social and Tourism Ports and the Zamboanga City Seaport Development Project.

"Dito na lang sa peace and order...pero as long as there are men in this planet, there will always be misdeeds and wrongdoings committed by human being. Be that as it may, I tried my best. Di ko naman sabihin na ano, mukhang nakumpleto ko halos lahat ng pinangako ko sa taong bayan. Salamat," (Aside from peace and order....it seems that I have completed the promises I made to the people. Thank you)," he added.

As a candidate in 2016, Duterte said it will be bloody if he is elected president. Since then, at least 7,000 people have been killed during the police's anti-drug operations based on police records.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also initially probed the Duterte administration for alleged crimes against humanity in the context of drug war killings during police operations.

This ICC probe, however, has been temporarily deferred after the Philippine government asked the court to stop the investigation by arguing that the local authorities are already looking into these killings.

The deferment of the ICC probe has been opposed by the families of those killed in the drug war, saying that the Department of Justice reviewed only 352 cases of drug war killings in police operations, which they said make the probe by local authorities a sham.

Duterte, however, said he would never cooperate with an ICC investigation even if he is willing to go to jail in New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa if the chips are already down.

"I am a Filipino. If there is somebody who will prosecute me, it is the Philippine prosecution service," he had said.

"Pilipino lang puede magpakulong sa akin. Parang hotel raw kulungan nila [sa abroad]...[pero]dito ako sa Muntinlupa. Ipatapos ko ang tattoo ko rito sa kamay. May bulaklak ako, ginagamit ko pag maglandi, ipanagyayabang ko tattoo ko (I can only be sent to jail by a Filipino. They say their jails there are like hotels. I will stay in Muntinlupa. I will have my tattoo finished. It is a flower, and I use it when I flirt, I brag about my tattoo)," he added.

Duterte's term ends on June 30, 2022.—LDF, GMA News