DAVAO CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said the government would need six more months to solve the drug and crime problems in the country.

Presenting freed Norwegian hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad to the media, Duterte admitted that he did not realize the magnitude of the country's drug problem when he declared his self-imposed deadline of three to six months during the campaign.

"Maybe just give me an extension of another six months. I did not have that idea that there were thousands of people in the drug business and worst is they are operated now by people in government," Duterte said.

"The problem is I cannot kill them all," he noted. "Even if I wanted to, I cannot do it."

Duterte mentioned that 700,000 new drug users and pushers have surrendered to the police and the military.

"We are trying our very best to put order in this country.
We are rocked with so many problems -- kidnapping in the south, terrorism, drugs which is really pulling us down. So I say we would need time to put everything in order," he said.

Duterte also explained that he postponed the barangay elections to avoid the spread of narco-politics, noting that some barangay captains are involved in the drug business.

"If you hold the barangay elections now the barangay captains, most of them are really into it (drugs), they would just stay in power and this time they have the money," Duterte said.