Press Release
May 4, 2019

De Lima: Duterte administration 'afraid of the truth'

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has questioned the government's over-eagerness to run after dismissed police officer Eduardo Acierto and a certain "Bikoy" who linked Mr. Duterte's family and his allies to illegal drug trade in the country.

De Lima said she suspects that the Duterte administration might be hiding something from the public in view of its desperate way in tracking down "Bikoy," a self-confessed former member of a drug syndicate, and dismissed police officer Acierto.

"Bakit ba pinag-iinitan nila si Acierto at 'Bikoy'? Ano ang kinakatakutan nila?" asked the former justice secretary in her recent Dispatch from Crame No. 514.

"Dahil ba hawak siguro ni Acierto at 'Bikoy' ang katotohanan? Kasi, kung imbento lang yung mga exposé nila, bakit pinag-aaksayahan ng pera, pagod at panahon ng mga awtoridad ang dalawang ito?" she added.

Acierto, a former deputy director for administration of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, has named former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang as among those behind the large shabu laboratory discovered in Davao City in 2004.

Bikoy, on his part, has alleged in a series of videos entitled "Ang Totoong Narcolist" that the President and his immediate family, including presidential son Paolo Duterte, and closest aide and now senatorial aspirant Christopher "Bong" Go, have links to the illegal drug trade.

The government has recently offered a PhP10-million bounty for leads that could help hasten Acierto's arrest while the National Bureau of Investigation has arrested a certain Rodel Jayme who allegedly uploaded the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" video as part of the government's manhunt for Bikoy.

De Lima, a former justice secretary, said the Filipino public should remain vigilant on how Mr. Duterte will use the government's entire machinery and resources to clear his name from any involvement in the drug trade in the coming days.

"Magnilay-nilay po tayo sa mga nakakabahalang mga kaganapan na ito. Maging mapanuri. Maging alerto," she said.

De Lima recently filed Senate Resolution No. 1033 calling for a comprehensive investigation into the alleged involvement of Yang in the illegal drug trade in the country.

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