Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

vowed Monday to press on with his

controversial drug war that has claimed
thousands of lives, as he outlined his vision
of an "eye-for-an- eye" justice system.

Duterte devoted large chunks of his

annual State of the Nation Address to
pushing his law-and- order policies that
have made him hugely popular with
many Filipinos but been condemned by
human rights groups and other critics.

"No matter how long it takes, the fight

against illegal drugs will continue because
that is the root cause of so much evil and so
much suffering," Duterte told
lawmakers from both houses of Congress.

"The fight will be... unrelenting despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop until
those who deal in it understand that they have to cease, they have to stop because the alternatives are
either jail or hell."