Drilon dismisses Duterte’s ‘malicious attacks,’ says Senate won't be distracted from probe

Published September 11, 2021 12:15 PM By HANA BORDEY,GMA News

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Saturday dismissed President Rodrigo Duterte’s “malicious attacks” against him, adding that the Senate will not be distracted from investigating the alleged overpriced procurement of pandemic-related supplies.

“We will not be distracted. We will not let distractions and disinformation prevail… If all these malicious attacks are the price we have to pay for exposing the truth, then be it. We will face them,” Drilon said in a statement.

In his latest public address aired Saturday morning, Duterte told Drilon to explain his alleged ties

with pork barrel scam mastermind, Janet Lim-Napoles, as well as former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and retired police general Marcelo Garbo Jr. who were both linked by the President to illegal drugs.

“All I heard is old news – the Napoles issue, Mayor Mabilog and Gen. Garbo,” Drilon said. 

“Former Mayor Jed Mabilog is a distant relative, being a second cousin. I cannot comprehend why the President wanted me to explain my connection with former Mayor Jed Mabilog and Gen. Garbo. But what I can say is, there is not an iota of evidence that will link my name to illegal drugs,” the Senate minority chief said.

He also answered the questions of Duterte about the persons behind the sale of the old Iloilo airport.

“Who brokered the sale of the old Iloilo airport? It was sold through a public bidding at P1.2 billion set by the Privatization Council then headed by the late Justice Sec. Raul Gonzales in 2007. The government’s Privatization Council at that time can very well explain this to the President,” he said.

“The site of the old airport represents now a booming Iloilo City. It is also where we built the Iloilo Convention Center. In case the President mentions it in the future, the Ombudsman had investigated it and found no corruption,” Drilon told Duterte.

He then mentioned that the person who accused him of corruption is now hiding from the authorities after the Supreme Court upheld his libel conviction.

Drilon was referring to former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel "Boy" Mejorada.

Mejorada was found guilty anew of four counts of online libel for "defamatory articles" posted on social media in February this year. —KG, GMA News

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