SEN. LEILA M. DE LIMA'S STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT DUTERTE'S ADMISSION TO REINSTATE CIDG 8 CHIEF MARVIN MARCOS

Just as I thought. Since, per my source, it's Bong Go who called PNP Chief Bato, then it must be the President who, directly or indirectly through Bong Go, gave such an order to reinstate Marcos. I guess the President had no choice but to own it up instead of letting Bong Go, his closest aide, trusted confidant, and all around go-to guy, to be the fall guy in this incident.

But I don't believe for a single moment Duterte's cited reason for the reinstatement, that the President himself was hatching a cloak and dagger scheme to further entrap Marcos or his partners in the illegal drug trade. We have had enough of these runaround explanations from Malacanang, and I'm sure there's a deeper and, possibly, a more sinister reason for the President's action. Otherwise, why would Gen. Bato go through this charade of pointing to a "kumpadre" instead of just admitting from the start that the President himself ordered the reinstatement?

The President's admission thus brought more questions than answers. This incident in itself should be the subject of a Senate inquiry. After the Peter Lim episode, where a supposed drug lord kumpadre of the President is allowed to leave the country, we must start asking ourselves this question: whether or not the President, rather than De Lima, is actually the number one drug lord protector and coddler in the country.

Let us once again start asking questions, for the truth to come out, and to put an end to Malacañang's factory of lies and Orwellian doublespeak.