The Palace has appealed for the Filipino people to trust the President admitted there were lapses on the list of narco-politicians and others.
The Malacanang Palace has called on the Filipino people to still trust President Rodrigo Duterte even he admitted that they were lapses on the list of the narco-politicians, cops and judges he had announced earlier.
This was the statement of the Malacanang after Duterte apologized to former Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr. and two other Pangasinan officials after he linked them to the illegal drug trade, few weeks ago.
At a news briefing at the site of a suspected shabu laboratory in Pampanga on September 27, Duterte admitted he had found certain “gaps” in the information linking the incumbent Pangasinan representative Espino, provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and provincial board member Raul Sison.
“In so far as the drugs, I think that somehow we were negligent in counter-checking the first report. So kay Espino and even to Sison and to Baraan… I would like to apologize to you publicly,” Duterte said.
“I am very sorry,” he added.
Following this, Malacañang encouraged the public on Thursday to still trust Duterte despite lapses on his narco-list.
In a press briefing, Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella issued a statement where he emphasized the humility of the President to admit to errors.
“Maybe more than trusting the list, let’s trust the President. I mean after all, he has publicly said, ‘I made a mistake. I apologize. I’m sorry,’” he said.
“Would you rather have him just flood on and say, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ when actually there was a mistake? No, the point is, I think, the one that we trust is not so much the list but the President himself who has the actual humility to be able to accept that he made a mistake,” Abella added.
Asking apology to Espino was not the first time that Duterte apologized for a mistake.
To recall, he also asked sorry to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno following the word war after he lashed out when he was asked to bare the source of his list implicating seven judges in thenarcotics trade.
In his departure speech before flying to Vietnam for a two-day official visit on Wednesday, Duterte said he would have a session with the media and release his third narco-list, upon his return on September 30.