Panelo shrugs off De Lima’s new potshot at Duterte’s drug war

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Sunday shrugged off Senator Leila de Lima’s remarks on the government’s anti-drug war.

“What do you expect from De Lima? She’s in jail, and she complains a lot,” Panelo said in a radio interview with Radyo Inquirer.

De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, has been detained since February 2017 for alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

“Sasabihin niya walang namamatay na drug…pag namatay naman bakit pinatay? Bakit namatay? Wala. Pabayaan mo na siya diyan, hayaan mo na siya diyan muna (She said no one is being killed. If someone is killed, she’ll ask why. Let’s just ignore her),” he added.

Panelo was asked to comment on De Lima’s recent remark where she said President Rodrigo Duterte is only interested in going after “small-time” drug personalities and not the “big-time” drug smugglers.

“There is a nagging pattern that shows Duterte’s disinterest in going after these big-time smugglers and drug lords. First, there is a denial, and then a whitewash,” the senator said in a dispatch from Camp Crame last Wednesday.

“For a President who has no qualms in ordering the summary execution of alleged small-time drug pushers and addicts, Duterte is exceptionally indifferent in going after the real drug lords who smuggle tons of illegal drugs into the country,” she added.

The statement was issued amid the “shabu” smuggling controversy hounding the Bureau of Customs (BOC). /ee