MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his earlier promise that houses of informal settlers would not be demolished until a relocation site is provided for them.

Duterte said he is not indifferent to the plight of the poor, which is why he is going to apply on a national scale his longstanding policy as Davao City mayor not to demolish the homes of informal settlers until there is a relocation site.

"During my time, there will be no demolition pag walang relocation, 'di ako papayag," Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang on Sunday during the fellowship dinner of San Beda College of Law alumni batches 1971 and 1972.

"Kasi kung walang mapuntahan, sirain mo ang bahay... Ano, parang aso? Eh saan pupunta yung mga tao?"

Duterte said he has instructed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Caesar Dulay to be strict in collecting taxes so that the government would have more funds for its poverty alleviation programs.

He also vowed to go after businessmen who do not pay the correct taxes and businesses destroying the environment.

Duterte won the election on a platform of ending criminality and corruption in government.

His simple platform resonated best among the country's poor, who have felt left out as the country's economy boomed.

However, the president's war on drugs has attracted criticism, with some observers saying the country's poor is the sector hardest hit in the bloody crackdown.