Duterte to allow military role in Philippine drug war, calls it national security threat

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Thursday the military would take a leading role in his deadly drug war, while vowing to kill more traffickers and addicts.

The mercurial leader ruled out declaring martial law and said he did not need extra powers, but wanted to bring the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) into his drugs war because he could no longer trust law enforcement agencies.

Watch: Philippines drug killings continue under police ban

“I’m taking in the AFP and raising the issue of drugs as a national security threat so that I will call on all the armed forces to assist,” Duterte said, while promising to kill more “son of a bitch” drug addicts.

They were also the clearest signal of Duterte’s plans for the drug war, after he admitted this week the police force that had taken the leading role was “corrupt to the core” and said they would no longer be allowed to take part.