Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says if he could go back in time, he wouldn't want to occupy his current position, as he finds the work exhausting and the pay bad, according to media reports.
"I don't know if I will survive the next six years," Duterte said at an awards ceremony at the presidential palace in Manila, according to the daily Philippines Star.
"I am ready to step down...I have no illusions about power or the presidency," added the leader, who thinks his monthly salary of 130,000 pesos ($A3474) is too little.
However, Duterte also said he wants to fulfil the promises he made during his election campaign that brought him victory in the presidential polls held in May.
Among other things, he had promised to wipe out the drug menace from the country in six months, and ensure health assistance for the poor, loans for the needy and SMEs, right to freedom of information, and a substantial salary hike for teachers and the police.
Duterte will complete six months in office at the end of December, and still enjoys huge popularity among Filipinos, according to surveys.
However, critics have panned him for his aggressive war on drugs that killed 5,900 - mostly extrajudicial killings - since he assumed office on June 30.
