Philippine Leader Unabashedly Threatens to Kill Drug Dealers in Final State of the Nation Speech

Philippine Leader Unabashedly Threatens to Kill Drug Dealers in Final State of the Nation Speech
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers his final State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines on July 26, 2021. Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP
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MANILA, Philippines—Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte unabashedly renewed his threat to kill drug dealers in his final state of the nation speech on Monday, while defending his non-confrontational approach in the country’s territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

Duterte, 76, who won a six-year presidential term in 2016, is winding down his often-tumultuous presidency amid a raging pandemic, a battered economy, and a legacy overshadowed by his deadly campaign against illegal drugs that has set off complaints of mass murder before the International Criminal Court.