Palace: Leni Robredo got PNP’s ‘palit-ulo’ scheme wrong

Malacañang on Wednesday hit back at Vice President Leni Robredo for misunderstanding the police’s palit-ulo scheme amid the war on drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella argued that the “palit-ulo” system did not mean that a relative of a drug suspect would be taken in if the person of interest could not be found.

“Eight months into our campaign against illegal drugs, Vice President Robredo, suddenly refers to an alleged ‘palit-ulo’ scheme – which she mistakenly describes as substituting a relative for a missing drug personality,” Abella said in a statement.

“The Philippine National Police’s (PNP) ‘palit-ulo’ scheme, which the Vice President gravely misunderstood, refers to a commitment of a drug suspect to provide assistance in the arrest of a ‘bigger fish’ in the illegal drug syndicate, whether an up-line/superior/supplier of the arrested suspect, in exchange for lighter charges,” he added.

The Presidential Spokesperson said that Robredo should refrain from making unverified information public.

“While she has the right to speak freely on matters of public concern, she also has the responsibility to be careful with her statements especially avoiding unfounded allegations from questionable sources,” he said.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo in an interview in Malacañang also told reporters the same.

“I think the Vice President, I’m sorry to say, has been misled, has been misinformed, and has been misguided on the information she has received,” he said.

“We can only appeal to the Vice President’s sense to study more, to listen more to what is the reality on the ground,” he added. —NB, GMA News