MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday denied anew that the government is responsible for extrajudicial killings in the country and labeled the crimes as a “dirty job.”

Duterte, who promised to address the problem of extrajudicial killings, also called it a “form of torture.”

“I do not allow extrajudicial [killings]. We do not do that. It’s a dirty job,” he said in a speech during the awarding ceremony of the 9th Belenismo 2016 in Tarlac.

“Para kang di lalaki, talian mo balutan… It’s a form of torture,” he added.

(It's like you are not a man, tying and wrapping.)

However, Duterte also apologized to those who were affected by his bloody war on drugs, saying his campaign is a “matter of survival” for the country. “I’m sorry for those na tinamaan (who were affected),” he said.

Since May 10, a total of 2,593 fatalities related to drugs have been recorded, data from the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research group showed.

Of this number, 945 have been killed by unidentified assailants while 1,463 died in police operations.

Since his assumption into office, Duterte has repeatedly been criticized by human rights groups both here and abroad for his war on drugs but no proof of state-sponsored killings have surfaced.

He said he released P1 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development as budget for the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers.

"Basta this Pasko, you can have your medicine, reseta may pirma ng doktor punta ka sa DSWD," he said.

(This Christmas, you can have your medicine. As long as you have a prescription with the doctor's signature you can got to the DSWD.)