Duterte eyes return to teaching after presidency


President Duterte said he is eyeing to return to teaching after his six-year term as president ends on June 30, 2022.

President Duterte (Malacañang photo)

Duterte said this a month before he turned over the presidency to President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In his speech during his meeting with Filipino athletes on May 31, the outgoing President said he wants to teach again to help educate aspiring police officers and help solve corruption in the organization brought by illegal drugs.

Duterte had said in several of his speeches over the past six years that he used to teach criminal law, criminal evidence, and criminal procedure in Davao City's police academy.

"Nakita ko (I saw that) it has corrupted the police, it has corrupted the prosecutors. Drugs corrupt the judges and everybody," he said.

"Kaya sabi ko magturo ako uli. Alam mo kung saan ako magturo? Balik ako (That's why I said I will teach again. You know where? I'll return home)," he added, referring to Davao City.

Duterte became president in 2016 after promising to solve the country's drug problems within three to six months. However, he admitted in April that he was wrong and that his hubris forced him to make such a pronouncement.

As of March 31, 2022, President Duterte's infamous drug war led to the dismantling of 1,130 drug dens and clandestine laboratories, the clearing of 24,766 of the 42,045 barangays, and the arrest of 14,888 high-value targets, including 527 government employees.

The administration's drug campaign has seized P76.17 billion worth of shabu and rescued 4,307 minors aged four to 17 from the illegal drug trade.

Meanwhile, 6,241 people were killed in the 233,356 anti-illegal drug operations conducted from July 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022.

Marcos Jr. had offered the drug war czar position to President Duterte, but the latter declined even if there was no legal impediment for a former president to take on a role in the Executive Branch.