MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte plans to consult with lawmakers about releasing his final list of drug personalities.

“I will call maybe for a consensus dito sa itaas, lahat ng mga senators, congressman, kasi napakabigat po ng problemang ito,” said Duterte on Tuesday, October 25, in a press conference before departing for Japan.

(I will call maybe for a consensus here at the top, with all the senators, cogressmen, because this problem is so heavy.)

“Kung ako lang, sabihin ko sa inyo hindi ko kaya. I mean, patayin ko lahat? (If it were just me, I tell you, I can’t do it. I mean, I kill everyone?)” he added, referring to the “thousands” of suspects in his list.

The night before, Duterte met with some Cabinet secretaries, including Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aquirre II and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, to show them his thick list of names.

“The final list subitted to me by the law enforcement is this thick. I don’t know how to release it,” he said on Tuesday in a mix of English and Filipino.

He claimed there are “about a thousand” barangay captains and “thousands” of police personnel involved in drugs.

“There are about a few mayors and national officials,” he added.

Duterte claims his list has been “revalidated” by a variety of government agencies and bodies, including the police, military, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Despite this, he previously said he was “thinking twice” about publicly reading out the list because of the large number of names.

He has said his announcement of supposed drug personalities is part of his “duty” as President to inform Filipinos about the extent of the drug problem.

He has announced the names of 5 police generals and around 160 government officials allegedly with links to the illegal drug trade. – Rappler.com