THE opponents of President Rodrigo Duterte will never be successful in injuring his reputation, even though they keep on maligning him, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said on Friday.
Panelo said that despite the allegations hurdled against the President, he will continue advocating programs, such as his campaign against drugs, that will benefit the country.
“I pity those who are making lies against President Duterte. They will never succeed,” Panelo said in a chance interview.
“No amount of black propaganda, no amount of sinister, ploy or plan will stop the President from his relentless campaign against the drug menace and terrorism,” he added.
Duterte’s chief counsel issued the statement after Senator Leila de Lima presented Edgar Matobato, a former Davao Death Squad (DDS) member who testified against the President at the Senate probe into drug killings held on Thursday.
At the Senate inquiry, Matobato accused Duterte of ordering the vigilante group to kill people in Davao City when he was still mayor.
Panelo merely tagged Matobato as a “perjured witness.”
“Obviously, whoever is behind this witness, the only objective is to taint the name of the President and his family… If you are watching the Senate investigation, it is very obvious that all statements were not true. Even the Senators themselves expressed suspicion on the witness’ testimony,” he said.
Panelo also questioned the timing of the supposed witness’ appearance on the investigation, noting that there was an impending House probe against De Lima regarding her alleged involvement in the drug sale at the New Bilibid Prison.
Had Matobato believed that Duterte was the sole responsible on the summary executions in the city, Panelo said he should have filed a case against the then-mayor.
“First of all, it’s been long ago and now, [Matobato is] saying this only now. There is no sane reason why [he] did not say that when President Duterte was still mayor. I think that’s distraction,” Panelo said.
“There will be a House investigation, the subject of which is [De Lima], the chairman of this [Senate] committee investigating. These are tactics so the attention would focus on [Duterte] instead of the House probe involving De Lima,” he added.
Asked then why the President remained silent on the issue, Panelo said: “The lies are too obvious. Perhaps, when you watch the proceedings, it’s obvious that it’s nonsense.”
In his visit to Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan on Thursday, Duterte avoided bringing up the issue when he talked to the soldiers. He also left the place without entertaining the media’s questions.
Pressed further if Duterte is threatened on the latest allegation, Panelo said, “Definitely not. How can you be threatened by lies? You know, there are so many issues in the country that you have to give attention.” (Sunnex)