Photo by Christia Ramos/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — In the spirit of Christmas, former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II is “just letting go” of President Rodrigo Duterte’s allegation that he was behind the ambush of former police general Vicente Loot.
Roxas’ campaign manager and Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice said in a text message to INQUIRER.net on Wednesday: “Sec. Mar, in the spirit of Christmas, is just letting it go. Anyway, everyone who knows Mar would just laugh at the news.”
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo clarified that Duterte’s statement that Roxas ordered the attack against Loot was just a “joke.”
Duterte, in his speech during the Barangay Summit on Good Governance in Davao City on Tuesday, said: “Si Loot kaduha daw ma-ambush di mamatay-patay. Dili ako’y nagpa-ambush adto ha, si Roxas. Katong ordera to kang Roxas ba to, di to ako,” Duterte said in Visayan dialect.
(Loot was ambushed twice but could not be killed. I did not order the ambush. It was Roxas. Roxas ordered his ambush, not me.)
READ: Duterte: Roxas ordered ambush of ‘police aide’
But Erice pointed out that, “Violence, killings are definitely beyond the realm of Mar’s world. Mar is appealing that we level up the campaign into more relevant issues like the economy.”
Last May, Loot and his family were ambushed in Daanbantayan, Cebu City as they had just arrived from their trip to Malapascua Island.
Duterte has accused Loot of being a protector of drug dealers. /kga
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