De Lima to Duterte: Stop going after imagined, fictitious drug lords

Sen. Leila de Lima. (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Instead of going after “imagined and fictitious drug lords,” President Rodrigo Duterte should investigate his own son and son-in-law, Senator Leila De Lima said on Monday.

“Duterte is not interested in catching real drug lords. He is merely using his notorious drug war as a platform for vengeance against the political opposition, including LP (Liberal Party) stalwarts Sen. Frank Drilon and former DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) Mar Roxas,” De Lima, who also belongs to LP, said in a statement.

“Mr. Duterte and his rabid attack dog SOJ (Secretary of Justice Vitaliano) Aguirre II should stop going after their imagined and fictitious drug lords, whether Sen. Drilon, Sec. Roxas, Mayor Mabilog, or myself,” she added.

On Oct. 25, Aguirre said the affidavit of Ricky Serenio, a confessed bagman of the Berya drug cartel, accusing Drilon and Roxas of being drug protectors would be treated as a complaint by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

READ: DOJ to use bagman’s affidavit to probe Roxas, Drilon’s alleged drug links

Roxas denied Serenio’s accusations, saying it was “just invented” and “based on hearsay.”

READ: Mar Roxas says bagman’s claims ‘double hearsay,’ ‘bizarre’

“Bakit si Drilon at Roxas ang iyong pagbabalingan ng atensiyon habang ang pangunahing nagkokonekta kay Paolo Duterte at Mans Carpio sa ‘Davao Group’, si Davao Councilor ‘Small’ Abellera, ay biglang nawala, at ‘di man lang malaman kung siya ay dinampot o pinalutang na sa karagatan ng Samal? Nasan rin ba si ‘Tita Nani’?” asked De Lima.

The senator was referring to Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, who were both tagged by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as behind the alleged Davao Group.

The said Davao Group was allegedly behind the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs, according to discussions during the Senate hearings. /je