Duterte: I have nothing to do with NBI probe on Vico

President Rodrigo Duterte said he had nothing to do with the ongoing National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probe on Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.

Duterte made the statement in a rambling televised address aired late Friday night.

"Isang beses lang ako nagsalita, nu'ng nag-proclaim ako ng emergency," Duterte said. "Wala akong pakialam sa operation ng NBI."

Duterte said he was in charge of setting the policy but left it up to agencies like the NBI to implement things.

"Trabaho ng pulis 'yan," he said. "Wala na akong pakialam."

The NBI this week courted controversy after inviting Sotto to explain a possible violation of quarantine rules related to the Pasig mayor's move to initially allow tricycles to ply in Pasig City.

Sotto has called the NBI probe a distraction, but said he will respond to the charges. He also blamed the NBI for the politicization of the issue.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government has called the NBI move a useless political distraction. --JST, GMA News