President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged leaders of Southeast Southeast Asian nations attending a summit in Laos to be more firm in fighting transnational crime.

In his speech, the Philippine president stressed the need for "stronger resolve and action" to combat transnational crime, which he described as "one of the most difficult and complex problems in the region and a pressing concern for the Philippines."

Efforts in boosting intelligence gathering, prevention, interdiction, arrest, and prosecution should be redoubled amid the recent bombing incident in Davao City, Duterte said.

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"We shall not be cowed, we will press on," he said.

"We must act together, in concert, to ensure economic gains we made so far will advance at full speed so that ASEAN can confidently play its rightful role as a global player contributing to the economic growth and prosperity," he added.

Duterte also reiterated plans to accelerate infrastructure spending by improving national road and bridges in Visayas and Mindanao as well as provide support for micro, small, and medium enterprises.