MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered all law enforcement agencies to destroy recovered illegal drugs like shabu (methamphetamine) to be destroyed by next week to prevent recycling and reselling.

"I want all the shabu, residual or otherwise, however minimal, destroy the whole of it by next week. You have so many days to do it, one week. Do it in one week. Destroy and get specimen," he said during his weekly public address.

"We go by science, just the experiment. Why do we have to put on our shoulder the burden of keeping a contraband or merchandise that can be stolen and used and recycled," Duterte added.

By destroying seized illegal drugs right away, Duterte said there will be less chances that these will be recycled and resold in the illegal drugs market.

"So we can more or less improve things, better protect the Filipino people, by doing a concerted action, immediately after, just a few, I hope the Supreme Court will agree with me, just a few days after they should be destroyed and be accounted for accurately," he added.

Ending the drug scourge in the country has been Duterte's top priority, but critics say numerous human rights violations were being committed in the government’s war on drugs.

Nationwide, thousands of drug personalities have been killed in anti-narcotics operations since Duterte became president in June 2016.