Philippines president threatens to kill own son over drugs

The President of the Philippines has threatened to have his own son killed if he is found guilty of drug trafficking allegations, reports mirror.co.uk.

President Rodrigo Duterte 's son is accused of smuggling huge quantities of crystal methamphetamine from China.

Paolo Duterte, 42, denies links to the seized shipment of $125 million worth of narcotics.

President Duterte, who has waged a ferocious war on drugs vowing to kill up to 100,000 traffickers, insisted none of his children were involved in drugs.

But the 72-year-old leader added that his son would face the harshest punishment if he is found guilty.

In a speech on Wednesday, Duterte said: "I said before my order was: ‘If I have children who are into drugs, kill them so people will not have anything to say.

"So I told Pulong (Paolo’s nickname): ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught. And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.'"

                                                       Paolo Duterte denies drug trafficking

Earlier this month, Paolo dismissed the allegations as "baseless" the allegations of his involvement in the drugs trade.

Opponents of the president say they believe his son Paolo may have helped ease the entry of the drug shipment at the port in Manila, the capital.