Duterte says conspiracy out to get him

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

DAVAO CITY—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte believes that law enforcers from Manila are out to discredit him by conducting raids, and even setting up drug laboratories in the city.

“Davao is clean. I can vouch for that. We do not have a (drug) laboratory here. But we received reports that they (law enforcers) might fabricate one to discredit me,” Duterte told reporters in a hastily called news conference late on Monday night.

“We have reports that top operatives of PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) are here, and they are out to discredit… a candidate, who is running for President in this year’s elections,” Duterte said.

The mayor warned that if the drug agents were to pursue their plan of conducting raids, planting evidence, or setting up a fake “shabu” laboratory, they had better make sure that their candidate won.

Because if their candidate were to lose, it would be better for them to go to China and reside there, he told his would-be tormentors.

Duterte refused to name the presidential candidate behind the alleged conspiracy against him.

“If I see you carrying shabu— whether you are from the military, police or PDEA—to set us up, I’ll kill you,” he said without bothering to veil his threat.

Duterte claimed he was sure there were no illegal drug laboratories in the city. “The last time they (drug manufacturers) tried it, they all died,” he said, referring to the 2004 raid on a drug laboratory in the city where six Taiwanese died.

But Duterte admitted that illegal drugs were still being peddled here.

This problem is being addressed by local authorities, he said.

“We cannot act as if we are in a fascist regime and order everybody to strip naked and be checked for drugs,” Duterte added, explaining why illegal drugs continued to enter the city.

Senior Supt. Adzhar Albani, PDEA chief for Southern Mindanao, said they were checking on the mayor’s report. With a report from Nancy C. Carvajal