Wouldn't be President; work tiring, pay poor: Duterte

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claims if he could go back in time, he wouldn't want to be President, as he finds the work exhausting and the pay bad, media reports said on Tuesday.

"I don't know if I will survive the next six years," Efe news agency quoted Duterte as saying at an awards ceremony held late Monday at the Malacañang Presidential palace in Manila.

"I am ready to step down. I have no illusions about power or the presidency," added the leader, who thinks his monthly salary of 130,000 pesos ($2,600) is too little.

However, Duterte also said he wants to fulfil all the promises he made during his election campaign that brought him victory in the presidential polls held on May 9, 2015.

Duterte will complete six months in office at the end of December since he assumed office on June 30, and according to surveys still enjoys huge popularity among Filipinos.

However, critics have panned him for his aggressive war on drugs that killed nearly 5,900 people in mostly extrajudicial killings, since he took office.

--IANS

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