As he counted down the days of his six-year term, President Duterte revealed that he had urged his daughter, Vice President-elect Sara Duterte, to ensure that illegal drugs would not enter schools.
Duterte said this after the Vice-President-elect accepted the offer to head the Department of Education (DepEd) under the administration of incoming President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
In his speech in Valenzuela City on Sunday, the President said that he wanted his daughter to take over the responsibility of fighting illegal drugs in the country, particularly the continuation of anti-illegal drug programs in schools.
"But this time, kung wala na ako, sabihin ko na lang kay Inday, 'Take over. Ikaw na ang... Kunin mo ‘yang trabahong...' (I will be gone. I'll tell Inday to take over the job)," he said.
Duterte appealed to his daughter not to let students be exposed to illegal drugs.
"Biro mo ‘yang (Imagine, in the) Department of Education, maraming bata diyan (there are many kids there). Do not ever allow contamination diyan sa ano (there)," the President said.
"Gumamit ka ng (Use whatever you can) --- if you have to do it, do it. Me, I had to do it because nobody would do it for us," he added.
In his speech, President Duterte reiterated his warning about the dangers that illegal narcotics bring and how they would destroy the country.
He likewise appealed to the police and military to sustain the momentum in the government’s fight against illegal drugs, assuring them that he would protect law enforcers who would be charged for killing drug suspects while in the line of duty.
"As long as it is done in the performance of your duty and you run afoul, or may namatay at maingay, ako sabihin ko (or someone died and it became an issue, I will say), I am the one who will assume the full accountability and all," Duterte said.