Philippine president Duterte says he hunted down drug suspects Leader also cites health problems and warns he might fail to finish 6-year term

Rodrigo Duterte: ‘When you fight crime, there is always death’ © Reuters

Philippine president Duterte says he hunted down drug suspects

Leader also cites health problems and warns he might fail to finish 6-year term

Financial Times 14 December 2016

[excerpts]

The 71-year-old leader made more headlines on Tuesday, when he reflected on how ill health, an ousting or even assassination could prevent him from completing a six-year mandate already also notable for his foreign policy tilt from the US towards China.

Mr Duterte told a rally of overseas Filipinos in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh that he was “not sure if I will still be around by the end of my term”. He lamented various health complaints including Buerger’s disease, a swelling of blood vessels, that he said was caused by smoking when he was younger.

“Oust me — good; assassinate me — better; I have this migraine every day,” he told the gathering. “I have a lot of issues with my spine. What I have is really Buerger’s disease.”