Duterte says he was behind ambush of ex-Daanbantayan mayor, Palace denies remarks

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the oath-taking ceremony of the officers of the Malacañang Press Corps, Presidential Photojournalists Association, and Malacañang Cameramen Association at the Malacañan Palace. SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, September 17, said he was the one behind the ambush of former Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot, whom he linked to the illegal drug trade.

“General Loot. P**** i** mo nanalo pa ng barangay — mayor. Inambush kita, animal ka, buhay [ka] pa rin (Motherf*cker, you even won as mayor. I ambushed you, you animal, you are still alive),” Duterte said in his speech in Malacañang.

“General-general mo. P*****… Pag-aral mo sa PMA (Philippine Military Academy) gastos ng gobyerno. Tapos kayong mga unggoy kayo sinisira ninyo ang bayan (Motherf*cker… Your school fees in PMA were shouldered by the government. But you, monkeys, you are destroying the country),” he added.

Loot, a retired police general, survived the ambush in May 2018 in Daanbantayan town that also left some of his companions injured.

Duterte earlier claimed that it was former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas who ordered the ambush for Loot, but the Palace clarified the President’s remarks, saying that the latter was just ‘joking.’

[READ: Malacañang defends: Duterte was joking about Roxas-Loot remark]

In a statement on Wednesday, September 18, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo then again defended the Chief Executive’s latest remarks, stressing that what Duterte was trying to say was that Loot is still alive despite the attempt on his life. He said Duterte cannot clearly express himself in Tagalog because he is a Bisaya.

“‘Inambush kita, buhay ka pa (I ambushed you, yet you are still alive)’ is uttered by a Bisaya President who is not proficient in Pilipino, the vernacular language used in the capital city of Manila and in most areas in Luzon,” Duterte’s mouthpiece, also the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, explained.

Panelo said it is “silly and absurd” to conclude that the President was the one who ordered the ambush just because he “misspeaks” the Filipino language.

Loot, meanwhile, had previously denied any connection to the illegal drug trade.

He even asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in July to probe him so he can be cleared of allegations against him.

“I had been the subject of much vilification and disinformation that even the President now believes them to be accurate. I am willing to face those charges if true and will make myself available for interview or requests for information about my life and activities if it will help expedite your investigation,” Loot wrote in his letter addressed to NBI Region VII Director Renato Enrile.