TELLS PRESIDENT TO LOOK INTO P6.8 BILLION SHABU SMUGGLING
Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday said President Rodrigo Duterte should devote more time in addressing the country’s pressing problems rather than train his focus solely on illegal drugs.
The President should have realized by now that he needed to address the more serious problem of rising prices of basic commodities, the Vice President said.
“Rising prices continue to make life difficult for our fellow Filipinos, especially for those in need,” she said.
But if the President is so enamored with his campaign against illegal drugs, Duterte should first focus his attention on the multi-billion peso worth of shabu that recently slipped past the Bureau of Customs, the Vice President said.
“He can turn his attention on the P6.8-billion shabu shipment that slipped past his customs officials,” Robredo said.
The shipment was reportedly stuffed in magnetic lifters that were discovered by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Customs denied that the magnetic filters contained drugs.
Duterte had dismissed speculations that the illegal drugs shipment was filched out before the magnetic lifters were discovered.
Robredo slammed Duterte over his priorities as the President on Thursday repeated his earlier statement that Naga City, Robredo’s hometown, is a “hotbed of ‘shabu.’”
I stand by my word that Naga is the hotbed of shabu, the President said at a speech in Cebu during the 49th Mandaue City Charter Day.
Robredo said Duterte should stop repeating his “recycled rants” against Naga City being a hotbed of shabu.
She said Duterte’s allegations about Naga City are “recycled rants conveniently used to deflect attention from the failures of this administration.”
Robredo said Duterte should stop from “constantly repeating this ridiculous allegation and throwing mud at the name of a city that thrives on good governance and staunchly supports the call to fight illegal drugs.”
“While he may be intending to flatter me by keeping me at the top of his mind these days when he stands behind the seal of his office, I’d still prefer that he focus on the many important matters that he needs to address,” she said.
Last week, Duterte said he was mulling stepping down before his term ends in 2022.
He said he would rather have the country ruled by a dictator than seeing Robredo succeeding him, adding hat Robredo is “incompetent” to be president.
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THE DURIAN POST 