The Philippine justice secretary says President Rodrigo Duterte often exaggerates killings of criminals he supposedly carried out in order to send a chilling warning to lawbreakers.

A town mayor and nine other men have been killed in a clash with police in the deadliest operation of an anti-drug crackdown launched by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

The Philippine president, who once called the pope a "son of a bitch" and told Barack Obama to "go to hell", says he has promised to God he will not use expletives again.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not abrogate a defence treaty with the United States but questioned its importance and that of joint combat exercises, which he says only benefit America.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has raised the rhetoric over his bloody anti-crime war to a new level, comparing it to Hitler and the Holocaust and saying he would be "happy to slaughter" three million addicts.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte ordered a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead, a former militiaman has told the country's Senate

The Philippine Supreme Court has ordered the government to put on hold a divisive plan to bury former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a heroes’ cemetery, a court spokesman said.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has rejected criticism from the United Nations about a surge in killings of suspected drug traffickers and denied government responsibility, his spokesman said.

The bodies of dozens of suspected drug peddlers have turned up in the Philippines in recent weeks, providing an eerie backdrop to the swearing-in yesterday of Rodrigo Duterte, who warns of a bloody presidency in his bid to eradicate crime.

Philippines’ president-elect Rodrigo Duterte has said he aims to bring back death by hanging.

Philippines' President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has said he aims to bring back death by hanging.

Millions of Filipinos lined up in blazing heat to elect a new president in a race whose front-runner is a brash mayor known for his sex jokes, pledges to kill criminals and a promise to end corruption within six months. 

The Australian ambassador and Philippine presidential candidates have condemned the leading contender's remark that the mayor "should have been the first" to rape an Australian missionary who was assaulted and killed by prisoners in 1989.