MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte said he is standing by his earlier statement that Naga City, the hometown of Vice President Leni Robredo, is a “hotbed of shabu.”
“I stand by my word that Naga is the hotbed of shabu. ‘Yung brother-in-law niya yung nagdala ng drugs doon sa Bicol. Totoo ‘yan,” Duterte said during the 49th Charter Day celebration in Mandaue City, Cebu on Thursday.
Duterte was referring to Butch Robredo, brother of late Interior and Local Government secretary Jesse Robredo.
It was former Naga City councilor Luis Ortega who first claimed that the Vice President’s brother-in-law was involved in the drug trade.
Malacañang said Ortega’s statement backed the President’s claim and should be investigated.
“Ito po ay isang development na dapat talagang imbestigahan,” Roque said in a radio interview on Aug. 22.
“Kung may mga ganitong pangyayari, eh dapat malaman natin anong mga hakbang na ginawa ni Bise Presidente, para mapatupad ang batas sa sarili niyang siyudad at sa sarili niyang mga kapamilya,” he added.
Meanwhile, Robredo and Naga City officials slammed Duterte’s “hotbed of shabu” tag. The Naga City Council has also passed a resolution condemning his remark.
Naga City Mayor John Bongat denied that there was a lack of action by local officials to put an end to the illegal drug trade in the city. (With PNA/PN)
