DAVAO CITY (August 30) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday stood firm on his earlier claim that Naga City, the hometown of Vice President Leni Robredo is a ‘shabu hotbed’.
“I stand by my word that Naga is the hotbed of shabu. Yung brother-in-law niya yung nagdala ng drugs doon sa Bicol. Totoo ‘yan, Of course they will deny it,” Duterte said in his speech during the 49th Charter Day celebration at Mandaue City, Cebu.
Duterte was referring to Butch Robredo, brother of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.
Duterte said he was not backing down from an earlier statement where he called the Vice President’s hometown a hotbed of drugs.
Prior to Duterte’s public revelation, Former Naga City councilor Luis Ortega also revealed that the Vice President’s brother-in-law was involved in the drug trade.
But Robredo denied Duterte’s allegation saying, “Hindi natin ito ite-take sitting down, kasi unang una, hindi totoo. Kasi kung totoo ito, tayo pa iyong yuyuko para humingi ng tawad. Pero dahil hindi siya totoo, talagang magrereklamo tayo na, iyon nga, pambabastos sa lahat na taga-Naga iyon.”
The Philippine National Police, however, said Naga City’s high crime rate backed the President’s claim.
Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Abayalde said “Alam naman natin [We all know that] those that are perpetrating these crimes against properties are really those also engaged in the drug trade, illegal drugs.”
PNP Public Information Office Acting Chief Benigno Durana in a statement said “Based on the latest PNP data, among the major cities of the country outside of Metro Manila, Naga City is ranked No.6 in the total crime volume during the period from January to July 2018.” -Jiann A. Padillo/NewsLine.ph
