Robredo lawyer hits back at Duterte 'lies': Probe P6.8-B shabu shipment, nab Peter Lim

The legal adviser of Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday described as lies President Rodrigo Duterte's accusations of the involvement of her brother-in-law in illegal drugs.

"Ang kasinungalingan, ulit-ulitin man, kasinungalingan pa rin," Barry Gutierrez said in a tweet.

Without mentioning any names, Duterte said earlier in the evening that a brother-in-law of Robredo brought the illegal drug trade to Bicol.

"I stand by my word na [Naga] the hotbed of [shabu], brother-in-law niya ang nagdala ng drugs sa Bicol. Totoo yan. Syempre denial," Duterte said in a speech in Mandaue City.

Prior to Duterte's remarks, former Naga City councilor Luis Ortega had claimed that Butch Robredo, brother of the late former Naga mayor and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, has involvement to illegal drugs.

Instead of casting aspersions on Robredo, Gutierrez challenged Duterte to investigate the P6.8 billion worth of suspected shabu discovered in Cavite and arrest alleged drug lord Peter Lim.

"Kaysa magparatang nang walang basehan, kung seryoso si Duterte sa droga: imbestigahan niya ang pagpasok ng ?6.8-B na shabu; hulihin niya si Peter Lim; pagtrabahuhin ang mga PNP generals kaysa magjunket sa Israel," he said.

Agents from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) found four magnetic lifters said to have contained P6.8 billion worth of shabu in a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite.

The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs has conducted motu proprio investigation into the recent shabu smuggling incident in the country.

Lim, meanwhile, is still evading authorities two weeks after Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos of the Makati Regional Trial Court's Branch 65 ordered his arrest and barred him from leaving the country due to his drug trade conspiracy charges.

The President made the statement as he questioned anew Robredo's leadership capability, saying that she could not "hack" the problems of illegal drugs and corruption.

Duterte previously dubbed Naga City, where Robredo hails, as a "hotbed of shabu."

Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde, meanwhile, has said that Naga City could not be considered as a hotbed of drugs as Duterte claimed. —Anna Felicia Bajo/JST, GMA News