Rodrigo Duterte tells Philippines police to kill his son if drug allegations are true

Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to kill his eldest son if drug trafficking allegations against him are proven true.

The Philippine President added he would make sure those who carried out the execution would be protected from prosecution.

The 72-year-old, speaking to government workers at the presidential palace in Manila, insisted death would be the result for any of his children involved in drugs.

"I said before my order was: ’If I have children who are into drugs, kill them so people will not have anything to say’,” he said.

"So I told Pulong (his son’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’.”

Paulo Duterte appeared before a Senate inquiry earlier this month to deny links to a seized shipment of $125m (£93m) worth of crystal methamphetamine from China.

Opponents of his father, who has begun a brutal crackdown on the drugs trade, say they believe the 42-year-old may have helped ease the entry of the shipment into Manila.

Senator Antonio Trillanes, a staunch critic of the President, told the Senate panel he had intelligence that Mr Duterte was a member of a criminal gang, citing a “dragon-like” tattoo with secret digits on his back.

Mr Duterte admitted he had a tattoo, but refused to describe it and told the panel there was “no way” he would allow a photo to be taken and sent to the US Drug Enforcement Agency for decoding.

Presidential spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the presence of the younger Duterte showed he was “willing and ready to face malicious allegations” intended to impugn his “character and credibility”.

Since Mr Duterte’s election on 30 June last year, police records show more than 3,800 people have died in anti-drug operations, with more than 2,100 separate murders linked to drugs.

The Philippine leader has insisted he would quit if critics could prove any of his children were involved in corruption.