NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines (UPDATED) – President Rodrigo Duterte poked fun at parish priests and religious groups who recently criticized his campaign against illegal drugs, suggesting they themselves take shabu (methampethamine) to understand the problem.

Speaking in Cabanatuan City on Wednesday, January 18, Duterte explained that people who are high on drugs are emboldened to fight back, which is why some of them get killed during police operations.

“They say extrajudicial killing. ‘Pag ang tao bangag, lumalaban talaga ‘yan. Kaya ‘yung ibang pari, dapat mag-shabu para maintindihan nila (When a person is high, they really put up a fight. So some priests should take shabu so they understand),” Duterte said at the 20th anniversary of the Premiere Medical Center.

Addressing Catholic Church leaders who have criticized his war on drugs, particularly the thousands killed since the start of his administration, Duterte said the killings of drug suspects would only stop if the illegal trade itself stops.

“Now the bishops, the cardinals want to stop killing? Ayaw na ninyo ng gulo? (You don’t want chaos?) All they have to do is to drop the shabu. Itapon mo lang sa dagat. Ang lawak ng dagat. Mamili ka ng dagat. Itapon mo diyan sa bukid,” said Duterte.

(Throw it into the sea. The Sea is vast. Pick a sea. Throw it in the fields.)

“Umuwi ka. Kung anong kinita mo, makuntento ka na because if you continue then magsasalubong talaga tayo,” he added.

(Go home. Whatever profits you made, be content with it because if you continue then we will cross paths.)

Catholic bishops have spoken up about the spate of extrajudicial killings linked to the administration’s “drug war,” and urged the people to speak up as well.

Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani criticized the Philippine National Police and denounced its anti-drug campaign Oplan TokHang as a “bringer of death.”

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo said on Tuesday that the tolerance of some Filipinos for the drug-related killings shows that many of them do not practice their Christian faith.

Duterte’s Wednesday speech did not lack in dire warnings of death to drug lords and drug pushers.

“Mga drug lord ‘nyo dito panahon ‘nyo na, padagdag sa greenery sa memorial park (You drug lords here, now is your time to be added greenery in memorial parks),” he said, drawing laughter from his audience.

The President reiterated that the killings will not stop “until the last pusher is out of the streets, even drug lords.” – Rappler.com