Inday cries ‘politicking’ over security claims

Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday accused the government of using national security allegations to undermine her, questioning claims involving Chinese remittances to a company linked to her husband and a multibillion-peso drug shipment intercepted in Laos.

In a statement, Duterte said the government was trying to turn separate issues into a conspiracy against her, including a business venture allegedly linked to Chinese funding and the attempted smuggling of 521 kilograms of shabu from Laos to the Philippines.

“What we see instead is desperation, exemplified by a purported travel authority for Laos that appears to have been fabricated to prop up a narrative unsupported by credible evidence,” she said.

Duterte’s statement followed the circulation of a purported Malacañang travel authority on 28 September that allegedly allowed her to travel to Laos on 29 to 30 September.

The document circulated after authorities disclosed that a private aircraft carrying 521 kilograms of suspected shabu worth about ₱3.5 billion had been intercepted at Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos on 1 October.

The Office of the Executive Secretary, however, said no request for such authority had been received and no travel authority had been issued.

‘More than friends’

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the Duterte family was not linked to the shipment but confirmed that Duterte and alleged drug shipment financier Sultan Edrieza Nasser Rimbang, a former member of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliament, had long been political allies.

“They are more than friends. They have been political allies for the longest time,” Remulla said.

Remulla also questioned why Rimbang was allegedly not included in the drug watchlist during the Duterte administration, despite authorities’ claims that he had long been identified as a drug personality.

“Ang pinagtataka ko lang kung bakit noong drug war, hindi kasama si Rimbang sa watchlist kung known drug element na siya dati pa,” Remulla said.

‘Politicking’

Duterte also questioned the scrutiny over ₱319.3 million in remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong received by Cale88 Foods Corp., a company linked to her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

The transactions were presented during her Senate impeachment trial, prompting the National Security Council to launch an investigation into their possible national security implications. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the alleged transactions could pose a national security threat if proven true.

Duterte has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of fabricating evidence.

“Government should start working and stop politicking. The people are impoverished, hungry and angry,” Duterte said.