THE camp of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a presidential candidate, on Tuesday called administration standard bearer Manuel Roxas II an “accomplice and protector of drug lords.”
And Duterte’s spokesman Peter Laviña slammed Roxas for saying he knew where to buy illegal drugs in Davao City and called him “pathetic.”
“Mar is showing he is not fit to be the leader of our country,” Laviña said.
“He did not only exhibit irresponsible citizenship by not reporting to authorities where drugs are being peddled, he has in fact become an accomplice in protecting drug lords and drug pushers.”
Laviña made his statement even as House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., the Liberal Party’s campaign manager, said Roxas would win this year’s presidential elections after Duterte called Roxas a “failed politician.”
“Don’t worry, Mar will win this next one,” Belmonte said in a text message to reporters.
But the relatives of the late President Jose P. Laurel on Tuesday publicly expressed their support for Duterte.
At the Manila Golf Club in Intramuros, the relatives, friends and business associates of the influential Laurel family of Batangas took turns praising Duterte.
“We the Laurels stand together. We have one united decision for Duterte. We have invited friends and business partners to this gathering,” Philip Laurel Yupangco said.
Jose Laurel Delgado said he was impressed with Duterte’s integrity, while lawyer Maricar Laurel said she believed in Duterte’s battle cry for “real change.”
Robert Yupangco, a son of Nita Laurel who is the sister of the late President Jose P. Laurel, said Duterte “walks his talk and is not tainted with graft and corruption.”
Interviewed after the first presidential debate in Cagayan de Oro City on Sunday, Roxas blasted Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
“There are drugs in Davao up to now. Even now I can accompany you to buy drugs in Davao,” Laviña’s statement read quoting Roxas.
Laviña also quoted Roxas as saying Davao’s crime incidence was the fourth highest in the country and that “the Davao City police office has also said the high volume of crimes recorded was because the local police was successful in doing its job.”
Laviña said Roxas deserved to “go to jail, not to Malacañang.”
“He is painting others black so he will look white,” he said.
