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Leni adviser hits back at Bongbong over 'unpatriotic' tag


The legal adviser of Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday hit back at former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos for calling her "unpatriotic" over her video message to the UN criticizing the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

Lawyer Barry Gutierrez said this was reminiscent of how Marcos' father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, treated those who exposed corruption and abuses during Martial Law.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Gutierrez told GMA News Online. "His father, the Dictator Marcos, did pretty much the same thing. He called all those who stood up to speak the truth and expose the corruption and abuses of his regime as disloyal and 'subversive'—just before he had them murdered and imprisoned."

The younger Marcos made the comment when he joined the birthday celebration of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Lubao, Pampanga.

He said Robredo was "unpatriotic and disloyal to the Philippines" for making the video upon the request of DRCNet, to be used for a side session of the 60th United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs' annual meeting.

In the video, Robredo, who defeated Marcos by a slim margin in last year's elections, raised concerns over irregularities in the police’s anti-drug campaign, including the "palit-ulo" scheme carried out in urban poor areas where the spouse or relative of a person in the so-called drug list will be taken "if the person himself could not be found." 

The video was uploaded on the internet a day before an impeachment complaint was filed against President Rodrigo Duterte before the House of Representatives. It has also resulted in threats of impeachment against her, made by several Duterte supporters including Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

In a separate message to reporters, Gutierrez also said: "Hindi ba mas unpatriotic pa rin ang magnakaw ng bilyon sa kaban ng bayan kaysa simpleng magsabi lang ng totoo?" —KBK, GMA News

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