Inauguration of Fort Magsaysay Drug Rehabilitation Center

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the unveiling of Phase 1 of the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) inside the largest military reservation in the country, Fort Ramon Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija.

The 10-hectare rehabilitation center planned in four phases started construction in July. It has a construction area total of 60,000 square meters with 172 building units. It is expected to accommodate around 10,000 patients which is the largest drug rehabilitation center in the country to date.

Huang Rulun is a 65-year-old honorary chairman of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Association of the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (FFCAP) and chairman of the board of directors of Century Golden Resources Group. He met the President in Davao on June 28 before he donated P1.4 billion for the construction of two drug rehabilitation centers inside Fort Magsaysay.

He expressed gratitude towards Rulun during the inauguration saying, “Please accept my gratitude and that of the Filipino people.” He called Rulun a “good Samaritan” and said, “He just came out of nowhere and went to my office and said that he would help me solve the drug problem.”

Huang stated that the donation was his way of showing support to the administration’s war against drugs and as a sign of goodwill for the President’s efforts to strengthen the country’s ties and friendly relations with China.

The President, during his speech, iterated his conviction against illegal drugs, “Let me warn you, drugs is a very virulent agent in any society. The campaign against drugs will continue till the last day of my term. I will not stop until the last drug pusher is out of the street and the last drug lord or king killed. Yan ang pangako ko sa inyo.” ●

The following is the transcript of the speech of the President.

SPEECH OF PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE

INAUGURATION OF THE DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT & REHABILITATION CENTER

Fort Magsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija

November 29, 2016

Kindly sit down. Maraming salamat po.

Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial of the Department of Health; Secretary Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defense; Secretary Evasco, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary; Director General Isidro Lapeña, Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency; Mr. Huang Rulun, Mr. Huang, please accept my gratitude and that of the Filipino people; Governor Czarina Umali; Mayor… Cuevas; Lieutenant Ricardo Visaya; Lieutenant General Eduardo Año, the other members of the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment Rehabilitation Center; beloved workers in government; my beloved also, countrymen.

When you are a friend, you do not treat him badly before the public. You do not humiliate an ally. And at all cost, you must save the friendship as an ally and friend so that you can help each other in the world of geo-politics.

Alam mo, what hurt me so much was really—and because I know the gravity of the problem. I was mayor for 23 years in Davao City. Kaya alam ko kung gaano kalalim ang laro. But I was not really expecting it as terribly as it would come to me when I became President. I was very strict in Davao, totoo iyan. There are allegations of extra-judicial killing, but you know, we cannot dwell on our sins, if there are any. We have to dwell on what to do to improve the situation, especially if it is the country that is at stake.

Ang pagkaalam ko kasi, seryoso. When I became Mayor, I said, to those of you who would want to destroy the young and deprive us of our generation, I will kill you. Simply. And if you destroy my country, just the same, I will kill you. Because both, the Filipino people, the young ones now grade six, grade five at ang aking bayan, kung hayaan ko, magkakaproblema ako. Magkakaproblema ako sa bayan ko, it will go down crashing. It will become a failed state like what happened in Latin America. A lot of them.

By the way, Ion Grillo who wrote the gangster and about the drug wars in South America is a favorite bestseller author of the book. He has come upon the invitation of somebody, I do not know, but he will be here tomorrow. And I would be happy if he’d be allowed to say things in public of what was really—the things that he wrote about.

Anyway, ganito iyan. Kung kaibigan mo, wag mo akong pahiyaan. Instead of helping me just like this good Samaritan, na walang—I mean, he just came out of nowhere and went to my office and said that he would help me. Solved the drug problem by—because he heard that—well, you know, Duterte, instead of killing the drug people, why don’t we just, you know, build something like this? You know, I became Mayor midterm. I am operating on a budget that was prepared by my predecessor, which was prepared last year. The budget for next year as everybody knows here is being prepared now, it is in Congress and it will become operational next year.

Ako, pumasok ako, midterm. Eh sabi nga nila, bottoms up. So when I became President, all that was left for me to spend was the operating expenses only. MOOE lang ako, wala nang iba. So, saan ako maghanap ng pera? I cannot get the money from the Armed Forces and transfer it to Secretary Ubial and tell her, you use that money, because that would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. Hindi ko pa magamit kung saan specific.

So wala akong magawa, to swallow lahat na, but then, let me warn you, drugs is a very virulent agent in any society. The campaign against drug will continue till the last day of my term. I will not stop until the last drug pusher is out of the street and the last drug lord or king killed. Iyan ang pangako ko sa inyo. I don’t care about media, whether it’s international, that’s not my problem anymore.

Elections are over, and what I need to do is just to comply with my promise. Remember that I promised the country that if elected, I would do away with graft and corruption, and it will be done. I assure you, I give you my solemn promise. (applause) Then drugs, with the help, of course, of the good souls in this planet, we will overcome and make it—basta sa panahon ko, tatapusin ko ito, kung hindi ako ang matapos, okay lang.

You know, we live by our destiny in this planet. So nakita ko sa Davao, noong naging Presidente ako, same. I said, now this time, I address myself to the country. Iyong lumaban sa—you know, the first six weeks ng assumption ko sa office, hindi amin iyon, hindi sa gobyerno iyon. Hindi kami nagbabalot ng tao ng plastic. We are not producing mummies, sa Egypt lang iyon. Those were tortures. And if you are government men, why would you waste your time wrapping a carcass there for nothing. If you want the drug lord, then shoot him in the head. Why do you have to waste your time? Actually, it was done—remember, I implicated some generals in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. I fired about six upon assumption. And I have many things to say, maybe in a few days.

Iyong lumaban, those who choose to fight were killed. My orders are very specific: Go and find them. Apprehend them, arrest them. If they choose to fight violently and you find yourself in danger; as a soldier or as a military man, go ahead and kill him. That’s all about. That’s the law. I was all along using the law. And why would these idiots daw, crucify me by saying, “If you destroy my country, I will kill you?” Find any other national of any country who’d find something wrong in that statement. And if I said that, if you destroy the youth of my land, I will kill you. There is no law at all, not even the United Nations. And ang masakit diyan, they kept on threatening me, most of them were outside, and always they would say, we will bring you to the International Court of Justice. How stupid can you get? The one saying it, the United States of America is not even a signatory of the International Criminal Court. Then why are you using a term in the charter of an organization of which you are not a member? And what about killing? I said early on, it was the purging and the cleansing, then came those who chose to fight.

Iyong mga tao na tumago at naghintay ng opportunity for a rehab or something good along the way, baka may makukuha sila, yun iyong dadating dito. Those who chose to fight it out, made his stand, they are there in the memorials and cemetery. I am sorry for them. But I will not hesitate to do whatever it is necessary to save my country. (applause)

Sabihin ko sa inyo, even if I will rot in prison, so be it. Iyan na lang ang pinaka-contribute ko sa—wala naman akong ibinigay sa bayan ko. I am not with credentials. I finished kindergarten to—I never got beyond the seven: 75, 76, 77, 75, 76. But sometimes, even with the minimum or the barest minimum of knowhow, I can perhaps do something for my country. But no, no—pumasok kayo sa ibang bagay, huwag dito. Putang-ina, talagang papatayin ko kayo. (laughter) Hayaan mo iyang sila, huwag ka niyong—bakit ba? Do your worst, really, totoo lang.

So maligaya ako dito sa nangyayari. But before I end, mainit kasi sila. I’m worried about the beautiful ladies there. Mahirap pagka umitim sila, wala na tayo, I want the ladies—I’m not a sexist, I’m just trying to say that Filipinas are really beautiful. I do not want to see you dark skinned one of these days.

Magkano ang sabi ni Mr. Huang? 1.5 billion, okay. This is what we have lost and what the drug lords have invested to destroy this country. At 200 per pffft, Tondo price, it’s about 6,000 a month, correct? Times—huwag iyong aking one million; iyong three million muna ni General Santiago, yung PDEA noon. Three million iyong bilang niya eh. Kasi ako, hindi pa ako tapos. At the end of the year, I might breach the million mark also. So at three million, so that is—times three million—well, six times three million, that would be 18 billion a year; times 12—a month rather; times 12, that is 216 billion. Magkano ito? 1.5. So how much—kaya maraming property, mga hotel, barko, lahat na, nandiyan sa kanila. And I said, they invested on the lives and sanity of the Filipino.

Kung hindi kita mapatay diyan, and do we have that 1.5 at our disposal? Maybe, we have the money, maybe we have it. But then, let us see next year. If I can get hold of 1.5, maybe, I will also build another one, this time, somewhere in the Visayas. But I’m sure, kasi may tinurn-over ang PAGCOR, 5 billion kagabi. Si Andrea sa PAGCOR, so baka—but you know, there’s trouble there in Mindanao. It is within control, but it’s a troublesome thing. So I have to fly tomorrow to go to—yung advance party ko na belonging to the Presidential Security Group, na-ambush pa kanina, tinamaan ng IED. But I’m going there. I’m going there because I’m just simply going there. The advice was to postpone, I said, “No. I’ll go there.” And if possible, take the same route. Maybe, we can have a little gun fight here, gun fight there. Exercise, baka.(laughter)

Kung hindi ako lulusot, eh nandiyan naman, that’s why, we have a vice president, Leni Robredo. Then you can have a gentle president also in exchange for the either courteous/discourteous mouth. (laughter) Hindi, ganito lang talaga ako, pero what else can I do? I was trying to explain to everybody that I do not have the money, that I entered the presidency midterm, that I’m having a hard time coping up. Kasi ang droga, oh ngayon, there’s a better atmosphere in our place.

In Davao City, napunta naman kayong lahat, parang all of you have been there, it’s a peaceful place. So, bakit? Because I stood my ground. I said, “You stay here, I’ll kill you. You do not go out of the city, I will kill you.” Those who are out of my city and now here in Nueva Ecija doing their thing. At least dito sa siyudad ko, you can go around anytime, and to think that Davao City is in Mindanao. But except for the rebellion which is a pestering, pestering problem, I really would say that were it not for this, maganda na sana tayo. But we can never move.

Now, let me remind you again, per my observation, we cannot have a peaceful country, as you know, if you do not agree to a federal setup. Ako, ayaw ko. Ayaw kong magpilit ng tao. Eh para sa akin, good. Kung ayaw mo, ‘di huwag. I’m just a Filipino, for as long as you do not bother me, fine. Ang problema, ang Mindanao mismo and the Moro people will go for it at all cost. Remember that the Moro was ahead of us by almost a thousand years because they are the natives there when the Spaniards and the Americans went there to conquer the island. So if I may correctly describe it actually, it’s the Moro nationalism that’s at work.

Iyong pagka-Moro nila na inagaw mo, karamihan ng mga Kristiyanos, iyong lupa nila, the choicest—really stayed there. Lahat ng magaganda belongs to the Christians, kaya may rason eh. But if you do not compromise here, wala tayong maano. That’s the barest minimum that they are asking. If I were you, I’d listen to the speaker here, ponder on it, sleep on it and maybe, decide one day that they too, must have a better deal in the governance. ‘Pag hindi, paningin ko, wala talaga. And I have—wala na tayong away ngayon. We do not have to fight the NPAs. They are probably here, nandito iyan nakikinig. Baka sigurong diyan sa likod, iyong naka-blue diyan. (laughter) May kilala kayo lahat diyan o, may isa talaga, dalawa NPA diyan. (laughter) Aysuus.

Wala man tayong away, so you know, I can pour all the troops there. When I was in—four days ago, I was in Jolo. Ito ba naman ang tanong sa akin ng media: “This is the sixth time that you have visited the place. You are pinning/donning medals, hanggang dito ka na lang ba?” You know, there’s really no problem. I can order the invasion of Jolo and give the order, the last man standing. I can burn Jolo. I can burn Basilan, bomb everything there, lahat na bahay makita ko with the howitzers and the—but what would it bring us? If you think that I will wipe out humanity there, we will at last enjoy the blessings of peace?

What you will get in return would be terrorism. And mind you, that Maute there who is fighting the government troops now, and there’s a raging battle going on, and I said iyong advance party ng security ko, pinutok ng IED. Kaya, I have to go to the hospitals to visit them tomorrow. That’s why, I have to go home tonight. I have to fly back. Iyon ang—kasama rin ang—the Reds. Mabuti’t na lang iyan, nakapaghinga na tayo, nag-uusap na tayo, at least there’s a respite for the nonce; we can rest. There’s no doubt about it, I can fight the whole year round, may pera ang gobyerno, may taxes eh, but for how long and at what cost?

So kayong nakakaintindi sa akin, you are too near the Left; you are too near with Misuari. But of course. I never liked it, but when I became vice mayor of Davao City, he went around Mindanao strutting with firearms. So I said, “No. You cannot enter my city with arms. It’s simply not—” So nagkaintindihan kami, and already are fast friends. And we are talking. May mga misgivings niya, but if we cannot find peace now, and I’ll give it to the next president. Do better, but do not concede more than what you can really give. For example, iyong gusto nila na ano, they want a—again, they repeated it before me, itong—they would want a—parang regional armed forces, pati pulis. So that’s something which I cannot give. Those are the things that cannot be negotiated.

They want a federal type presidency, fine. But the commander-in-chief and the control of the police and the military shall always be in the hands of the president. But those are the nitty-gritty things in life.

In the meantime, we savor the moment that Mr. Huang has travelled all the way from his homeland to share his money. And I would like to thank everybody dito. You know the PDEA Chief, the one who succeeded his—former—Sid, General Sid Lapeña, he used to be my city police director. And everybody else, mga kasama ko, those—yung mga nakilala ko, and I said, there will be no compromise eh. The only compromise dito—I’ll go now, but the only compromise that is acceptable to me is you surrender.

If you continue, I said, you might end losing not only your funds but your life. Because I have told the police, the law enforcers and the military, do not hesitate to kill especially if you think that your life is in danger. So para maintindihan ng lahat. Maraming patay? So be it. The most sensible way to deal with the ‘patay’ is ilibing mo, para hindi mangamoy. So, period. It’s a brutal way of saying things, but that’s the only thing I think these idiots understand. I will not allow my country to sink like Colombia, even if—until the last pusher, until the last drug lord is exterminated. That will be the rule of the day.

Maraming salamat po. ●