President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Brunei Sunday evening in the first leg of his two-country visit where an eager Filipino community welcomed him.

With Cabinet members and other officials seated at the stage of the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex, Duterte was greeted by Filipinos who cheered him.

Duterte spelled out his campaign to rid the Philippines of a drug menace and erase corruption.

“Do you know why we couldn’t take off? It’s because of corruption,” said Duterte.

Duterte said there are 6,000 policemen “contaminated with drugs”. That is why, Duterte added, “war vs drugs will continue until the last pusher is off the streets, last drug lord is eliminated.”

Apparently referring to the killings of illegal drug suspects and rising international furor over this, Duterte said: “How can you threaten to send a president to prison for waging a war against drugs.”?

“I am willing rot in jail for the Filipino. So do not keep on threatening or intimidating me,’ Duterte said.

"The President’s meeting with the Filipino community in Brunei is a much-awaited event, ” said Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Meynardo Montealegre in an interview with reporters before Duterte met Filipinos working in Brunei.

“We have about 20,[000] to 23,000 Filipinos and there is so much expectation. So when they learned about the postponement of the visit, there is understandably some disappointment and frustration on their part, but they have also expressed their understanding when they learned about the reasons why it has to be postponed,” Montealegre said.

Montealegre was referring to Duterte’s postponement last month, supposedly his first foreign trip as head of state, following a deadly blast in Davao City. DMS