Duterte's back-street butchers: Bodies pile up as crackdown claims 5,900 lives in five months and president declares 'You want me to stop? Then stop taking drugs' 

• e-mail

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has sent the death toll to 5,927 in five months and has said the way to stop the slaughter is to stop taking drugs. 

The radical leader insists he is not a killer, despite the country's streets being littered with dead bodies due to his crackdown on illicit drugs.  

President Duterte said he is not about to pull the plug on his operation, but would happily allow citizens to enjoy Christmas and New Year in peace if people stopped taking drugs. 

Scroll down for video 

Rain pours onto the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The basketball court at the Quezon City Jail, which has become a sleeping area, in the Philippines 

Police investigators near the body of Michael Araja, 29, who neighbors said was killed by two men riding by on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The bodies of Frederick Mafe, 48, and Arjay Lumbago, 23, who were riding together on a motorbike when they were killed by a pair on another motorbike, in Quezon City, Philippines

Police investigators hunched over the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, as it rains in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

Jimji, 6, cries out in anguish, saying 'Papa' as workers move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, 25, for burial, in Manila, Philippines

He told the Phil Star: 'They say there have been a lot of killings, executions and extrajudicial killings. You want these to end? 

'It's simple. You drug users should stop.

'Stop it and there will be a peaceful New Year and Christmas.'

His national police released figures on Monday stating there had been 5,927 deaths linked to the war on drugs in the Philippines since July 1, according to CNN.

Part of President Duterte's manifesto was to crack down on illegal drugs and he was elected to office in May.

In July, 60,000 Filipino drug addicts surrendered themselves to the government after the President urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users.

But the death toll has continued to rise, with 2,086 killed in police operations and 3,841 in extra-judicial or vigilante-style killings. 

More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested, but President Duterte has made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

Duterte has repeatedly denied that police are carrying out extra-judicial killings, which involve victims' faced being taped up, but in September said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts.

Many are thought to have been gunned down by vigilante groups, who are paid in cash for each confirmed kill, with many leaving cards labelled pushers next to bodies to prove the hit.

These groups are a key part in Duterte's pledge to kill 100,000 drug users and dealers and fill Manila Bay with their bodies.

An unidentified body that was found with his head wrapped in packing tape, his hands tied behind his back and a cardboard sign that read, 'A pusher who won't stop will have his life ended,' on a street in Manila, Philippines

Bodies stacked up at a funeral parlor as the families of victims like Danilo Deparine, whose body lay on a metal stretcher on the floor, struggle to pay for burial, in Manila, Philippines

Inmates at a Manila police station watch as drug suspects are processed after their arrests in the Philippines

The funeral of Benjamin Visda, 43, who had left a family birthday celebration to get something from a convenience store when he was snatched off the street and killed, according to relatives, in Manila, Philippines

Four men arrested for possession of drugs cover their faces from the camera in Manila, Philippines

Nellie Diaz hunches over the body of her husband, Crisostomo, a drug user who had surrendered but still ended up dead, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte, 71, won elections in a landslide on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals to fight narco-politics in the Philippines. 

Since he took office the crackdown has claimed thousands of lives, but told Phil Star: 'I won't hold back and abandon my job. Somebody has to be sacrificed for it. That's OK with me. It's part of the territory to be disliked.

'I do not offer any excuses or apologies. I will answer God when I face him.'

Some have accused him of crimes against humanity, human rights abuses and mass executions, but Duterte maintains his campaign will transform the country.   

'I cannot explain every death in this country,' he added. 

But if you tell me to hold back, I cannot because I cannot afford it. 

'I cannot now stop the momentum with the four million drug addicts spread all throughout the country.'

People visit the tombs of their loved ones on All Saints Day at the Barangka cemetery in the Marikina area of Manila, Philippines

Relatives overcome with grief at the site where the bodies of Frederick Mafe and Arjay Lumbago lie sprawled in the middle of a street in Manila, Philippines

Funeral parlor workers carry away Edwin Mendoza Alon-Alon, 36, who was shot in the head outside a 7-Eleven store, in the Paranaque area of Manila, Philippines

The blood of Florjohn Cruz, 34, stains the floor in his family's living room, next to an altar displaying images and statues of the Virgin Mary, among other items, in Manila, Philippines

Police at the scene of Ronald Kalau's death, in Manila, Philippines

The busy Tondo neighborhood of Manila, the Philippines where President Rodrigo Duterteís brutal anti-drug campaign rages

Roel Scott, 13, inspects the bloodied spot where his uncle, Joselito Jumaquio, 52, was killed by the police, in Manila, Philippines

 Family and friends attend the funeral of Joselito Jumaquio, who was slain by a mob of masked men, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte said he is overwhelmed by the seriousness of the drug problem in the country and has vowed to fight on.  

He said the drug industry had infiltrated government, with more than 2,000 officials and local executives involved in the narcotics trade, according to Phil Star.

Despite coming in for criticism, the President is hopeful billionaires would support his campaign, citing the Chinese real estate tycoon Huang Rulun, who helped pay for the rehabilitation facility in Nueva Ecija.  

China is ready to give the Philippines weapons to help wage his controversial war on drugs, the Chinese ambassador to Manila said.