President Duterte had admitted that he was wrong when he promised to solve the country's problem with illegal drugs in three to six months, saying hubris probably forced him to make such a pronouncement when he was campaigning for the presidency in 2016.
Duterte made this statement less than two weeks before Filipinos elected his successor on May 9, 2022.
In his speech during the inauguration of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) Project in Cebu, the President recalled how he saw the drug problem evolve when he was mayor of Davao City for almost 23 years.
However, Duterte admitted then he got too confident when he vowed to solve the country's drug problem in half a year when he ran for president.
The President said he only realized how grave the problem was when he learned that six generals of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were supposedly involved in the drug trade.
"Sinasabi ko (I said) I can clean it in six months. Then after that, I realized na nagkamali talaga ako (I was wrong)," Duterte said on Wednesday evening, April 27.
President Duterte admitted that his pronouncement, which catapulted him to the presidency, was probably hubris.
"Maybe it’s hubris; it was campaign time, payabangan naman 'yang kampanya (the campaign is a boasting contest)," he said.
Despite this, Duterte said he could not just sit idly and might find a way to address the problem even after he is out of the office starting the afternoon of June 30, 2022.
"Hindi na ako Presidente (I am no longer the President) in a few days. But if you continue to f*** the Filipino, I might find a way really to just..." he said.
"No quarters given, no quarters asked," he warned.