President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the photos of a slain drug suspect cradled by his wife are melodramatic.

"And you are portrayed in a broadsheet na parang Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ. Eh 'yang mga 'yan, magka-dramahan tayo dito," Duterte said in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA),

"Ilang beses ko na sinabi, sa Davao, huwag mong gawin, kasi magkakaproblema tayo. He who is the cause of the cause is the cause of them all. Ikaw 'yung nag-umpisa, you swallow," he also said.

Duterte also warned drug users and pushers of the consequences of their actions.

"Kung ayaw niyong mamatay, kung ayaw niyong masaktan, huwag kayong umasa sa mga pari at sa human rights. Hindi nakakapigil 'yan ng kamatayan. So huwag ninyong gawin. Eh tapos nandiyan ka, nakabulagta," Duterte said.

For Duterte, what the government is doing against drugs is part of its job.

"Kami, nagtatrabaho lang. We have a nation to guard. We have billions of people to see that they're healthy. It's a question of drugs, it's a question of public interest, public order."

"Kita mo, lesser crime. Wala na kasing magnanakaw, wala nang nagholdap," Duterte added.

Photos of Jennelyn Olaires hugging the dead body of her partner, Michael Siaron, went viral over the weekend. Siaron, a pedicab driver and alleged drug pusher, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.