Duterte vows to fulfill all his promises 'until his dying day'

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to fulfill his promises until his "dying day," months before a midterm election widely seen as a referendum for his administration. 

Duterte, whose bold pronouncements on drugs and corruption helped him seize a landslide victory in 2016, said he would be embarrassed if he fails to make good on his promises. 

"I don’t make promises that I can’t keep. If I say it in public, I will fulfill that until my dying day. Even if I have to rot, I will do it as long as I can fulfill it," Duterte said during the distribution of land ownership certificates in Negros Occidental last Friday. 

"That is my message to you. Believe it because even though it sounds arrogant, that message came from the President of the Philippines. I will never allow my promises to fail because I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of the Filipino," he added. 

Duterte has been on a legacy mode in his recent public engagements, enumerating the accomplishments of his administration and promising to sustain his reforms in his last three years in office. Last month, he claimed to have delivered on all his promises except easing the traffic woes in EDSA.

READ: Duterte claims he has delivered on all his promises but one

Duterte, who called himself "a worker of government," cited anew his administration's gains last Friday. He mentioned the laws on free education and universal health care and the additional funding for the cash transfer program. 

He also cited his dismissal of some Cabinet members as part of his anti-corruption campaign and his intensified crackdown against illegal drugs. Duterte had vowed to end the illegal drugs scourge within the first six months of his term but admitted later on that it was not doable because several officials are involved in the narcotics trade. 

READ: Bam: Duterte's 'recycling' of officials gives mixed signals on corruption

The president also vowed to continue the land reform program to persuade communist rebels to abandon the armed struggle. 

"For my remaining three years, I will give away all government-owned lands to the people. They are of no use to the government anyway. The mountains are very vast. Except for the military reservation. Their area is very large," Duterte said.  

"But there’s nothing like that in the mountains. So I instructed (Agrarian Reform Secretary John) Castriciones to give the lands away to the people because that is one of our most pressing problems," he added. 

Duterte also promised to fast-track the distribution of fertilizers and joked that they should be used to "bury" members of the communist armed group New People's Army. 

"Bury the NPAs in those fertilizers. I will give you 2,000 plus. I will give you cellphones. My phone number is there so you can call... Get it from the police here. This is my police. Where is yours? Let’s see who is more beautiful," he said. 

"I will give you this. The price is also included here already. Massage, body, one half, massage all the way....I’m just joking to make you laugh. That is our agreement, okay? If you don’t follow it, I will get back at you and shoot you with an armalite. I will be the one to fire the first shot," he added. 

Aside from fighting corruption and illegal drugs, Duterte has also promised to pursue peace talks with communist and Muslim rebels and to push for a federal form of government.