MANILA, Sept. 28 (PNA) — President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the Philippine Marines to stay loyal to the Republic and help to fight the country’s drug problem.

In his remarks before the elite troops on Tuesday (September 27), Duterte said: “I am now calling you… to also fight drugs.”

He stressed, however, that he is not encouraging them to take the law into their own hands.

Duterte promised to give the soldiers anything they want and need “to win a fight, to win a war, to win a battle, ibibigay ko sa inyo, walang problema.”

President Duterte also assured the troops that economic benefits “will come if there is a peaceful Philippines.”

Turning to the government’s peace efforts, the President emphasized that he was “not a wartime President. I am a President seeking peace for my people.”

During his dialogue with the Marines, Duterte reiterated his plan to seek closer ties with China and Russia. He announced that he would be visiting these countries soon to discuss trade and commerce.

“This Republic will rise, this Republic of the Philippines will continue to be great… We will survive on our own. We will fight our wars on our own and we will win as a country,” Duterte told the soldiers. (PNA)