MANILA, Philippines — "No one can stop me," said President Rodrigo Duterte before the Davao City's business industry on Saturday, referring to the declaration of martial law.
Duterte referred to what he calls as a grave, pervasive drug problem in the Philippines as a possible reason to put the country in the hands of the military.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, meanwhile, slammed the media for misreporting Duterte's statement and cited a previous address of the president.
"The President has categorically said no to martial law. He even made a pronouncement saying that martial law did not improve the lives of the Filipinos," Andanar said in a statement.
Dutere has flip-flopped on the issue of martial law several times since he assumed presidency in June last year. He once called it a stupid idea, but he also threatened to impose martial rule a few more times.