PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has revealed that former President Fidel Ramos was the one who gave him the roster of individuals who have alleged links to illicit drug trade.
At his meeting with the Filipino community in Laos on Monday evening, Duterte said that Ramos had shown him the drug list way before he decided to run for presidency last May 9.
“You know, President Ramos went to Davao four times, not three times – four. At first, he did not show me anything. He just said, ‘You must run because it’s about time that Mindanao would have its own president,’” Duterte said.
“The second time, he was strongly urging me to run. He said, ‘You are the only one who knows how to stop [the drug problem].' Then he showed me a list of those who are in the list, including the generals,” he added.
Duterte issued the statement after claiming that over a hundred individuals working in government, including his staunch critic Senator Leila de Lima, have connections to drug syndicates in the country.
The President even named some drug lords in the country and had asked them to surrender to authorities.
He earlier said he would announce another list containing the names of individuals who are allegedly involved in illegal drug trade.
Duterte, however, said that he has yet to validate the intelligence reports linking several people in narcotics. (Sunnex)
