MANILA – Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo sees nothing wrong with President Rodrigo Duterte’s reported meeting with former economic adviser Michael Yang in China during the time he was supposedly finalizing his decision to seek the presidency in 2015.
Panelo on Thursday said the President and Yang are friends and noted that there was no malice as to the reported meeting.
“Magkasama nga sila kasi magkaibigan sila pero no relation whatsoever,” he said on the sidelines of the 17th Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Convention in Iloilo City on Thursday.
He added: “Kami rin ni Presidente pumupunta din sa iba-ibang lugar, magkasama, bago pa nagkaroon ng intention to run.”
Panelo instead twitted news website Rappler, which came out with the story on Duterte and Yang’s meeting in China.
“Kung magkaibigan man o magkakilala, baka naman nagkita lang sila roon. Pero ang problema d’yan sa Rappler, palagi silang, they’re injecting something. Masyadong malicious eh kaya nagrereact si Presidente sa kanila,” he said.
Panelo also sees nothing wrong, assuming the President did visit companies Yang allegedly owned in Xiamen.
“Even assuming that to be true, anong masama dun?” he said. “Kung nangyari ‘yun during the time na hindi pa siya kandidato, mayor pa siya, nagkataon lang na nagkita sila doon, baka ‘yung company gustong mag-invest sa Davao. So what’s wrong with that?”
Questions about Yang’s status in government were raised after he was linked to illegal drugs by former police official Eduardo Acierto. The allegation was both denied by Malacañang and the Philippine National Police.
It was also this week that Malacañang announced that the controversial Chinese businessman’s “one peso per annum contract” as Duterte’s adviser expired last Dec. 31, 2018. (With ABS-CBN News/PN)
