With his son facing accusations of drug trafficking, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday reiterated an election claim that he would have his children killed if they were “into drugs”, AFP reported.

His son Paolo appeared this month before a Senate inquiry to deny accusations that he was a member of a group that helped smuggle in a huge shipment of crystal methamphetamine from China.

“I said before, my order was: ‘If I have children who are into drugs, kill them so people will not have anything to say,’” the president said in Manila on Wednesday night. “So I told Pulong [Paolo]: ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught. And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.”

Thousands of people have been killed since Duterte’s anti-drug campaign began after he took office on June 30, 2016. The Filipino president has said he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts.