President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año would temporarily lead the Philippine National Police.

In a speech in M'lang, Cotabato, Duterte said he did not appoint a PNP chief, citing corruption among some policemen.

"The policemen in the province are good. But in Manila? That’s why I did not appoint a PNP (chief). I told General Año to handle it first. You fix the police so that by the time we make the exit two years from now, at least the Filipino problems won't be that heavy anymore," he said.

"You’re dealing with government officials or officers who are into corruption, especially drugs. That I am warning you again, be it the police, the mayors or the barangay captains: You will die. If you enter into drugs, there is no other way to deal with you, except to kill you," Duterte stressed.

Since the resignation of then police chief General Oscar Albayalde last October and then his retirement on November 8, Duterte has not appointed a PNP chief.

Albayalde quit after allegation against him as illegal drug protector was revived. He denied this.

Duterte also again slammed human rights groups, which have been critical of his bloody war on drugs.

"Those human rights, what they have been doing are all human wrong. Their job is different, (which) is counting deaths at the funeral. For me, it’s the social problem that is the result of the use of drugs," he said.

Over 5,000 individuals have been killed in the government's war on drugs since July 2016. Celerina Monte/DMS