Two days after admitting his administration’s war on illegal drugs was a failure because it was a “worldwide problem,” President Rodrigo Duterte assured Filipinos on Thursday night his family was not into the drug trade themselves.
He also defended his eldest son, former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, against alleged links to a syndicate.
This was after the Dangerous Drugs Board, which is under the Office of the President, said it was ready to undertake a study to determine the real nature and extent of the country’s drug problem.
In a chance interview on the sidelines of the annual convention of the League of Prosecutors in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, the President said his talk linking his family to narcotics was propaganda.
He said his political enemies were behind the video that linked the younger Duterte and Agriculture Assistant Secretary Waldo Carpio, the President’s son-in-law, to illegal drugs.
Though he did not say who was behind the video, he said one of them was “gay.”
“That’s why I said you gay people. I do not have to give the name. You should ask the critics who am I referring to and they know who it is,” Duterte said.
On Tuesday, the Facebook page “Metro Balita” posted a six-minute video showing a list of alleged drug lords and the kickbacks deposited in their bank accounts. The resigned Davao City vice mayor, the video said, topped the said list.
The Palace shrugged off the video as propaganda, while Paolo Duterte said it was Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, an administration critic, who was behind the campaign against him.
Trillanes denied the accusation.
“Having said that, I really wish I was part of the making of the videos so I could relish these moments but sadly I am not. In the meantime, I am looking forward, like everyone else, to the next episode,” Trillanes said.
“My challenge to you [President Duterte] is this, sign a bank secrecy waiver to show that you are not corrupt and the billions of money that you have did not come from drugs,” he said.
He also dared the former vice mayor to bare his back to prove he did not have a tattoo marking him as part of a drug syndicate.
The younger Duterte is currently gunning a seat in Congress as representative of Davao’s 1st District in the May elections.
Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said she believes she’s the target of the series of online videos linking the Duterte family to illegal drugs.
The mayor, the President’s daughter and campaign manager of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial slate, offered that assessment after a second video accused her teenage sister Veronica and the President’s partner Honeylet Avanceña of receiving payoffs from the illegal drug trade and depositing these in Hong Kong banks.
On Thursday, the President said he sees no reason to release a list of celebrities linked to the illegal drug trade.
In a speech at a convention in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Thursday evening, the President vowed that he will not disclose the identities of those included in his list as they are “private persons.”
“This is the most appropriate time to say it. The list of drug addicts, users, traffickers, even the celebrities, and others, I will not declassify that,” Duterte said.
“You know why? It’s because they’re not seeking public office. But those who are seeking public office and will someday, if they win and hold power, that would be a problem,” he said.
According to Duterte, he is “morally and legally bound” to inform the people of “vetted and verified” narco-politicians.
“I tell the people, these are your candidates. It’s up to you. If they still vote for you, fine. This is a democracy. But the people ought to know and that is my solemn duty to inform the public to the right of information and to know who are the idiots there. So, I dropped their names,” Duterte said.
Two days ago, the Palace said the Department of the Interior and Local Government has filed administrative cases anew against 46 people allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
In March, the President previously revealed the names of 43 local officials and three congressmen linked with illegal drugs. The 46 names, according to the President, were “vetted and validated.”
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo then told politicians included in the narco-list to avail of legal remedies should they feel “injured” by their inclusion in the list.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency recently announced that 31 celebrities are on their drug watchlist. The drug-linked celebrities, according to PDEA, even “serve as role models” and portray wholesome roles in the entertainment industry.