MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer said there is a low chance that the country’s leader is using the wrong information as basis for his accusations against top police linked to the illegal drug trade.

“Malabo ‘yan, ‘yung probability na he was fed with wrong information,” said Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Thursday, July 7.

(The probability that he is being fed with wrong information is low.)

The lawyer even said that, in his opinion, none of the intelligence being sent to Duterte is erroneous.

“Alam mo, ‘yung information being fed wrong, palagay ko less than 0.00% lang ‘yun,” he said.

(You know, I think less than 0.00% of the information fed is wrong.) 

Asked what would happen if Duterte’s accusations turned out to be false, Panelo said, “it will never happen.”

“The fact alone na sinabi mo nagkamali ako (that you said I am wrong), that is already repairing the damage but it will never happen,” he told reporters.

Panelo said that Duterte, as the president, would have access to intelligence from a variety of sources and would have the power to validate these. 

But all of the cops publicly named by Duterte last Tuesday have denied involvement in the drug trade. One of them, retired Police Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr, claimed Duterte is being fed “wrong, poison” information.

Panelo also gave assurances that Duterte, the first lawyer-president since Ferdinand Marcos, knows what he is doing. As a prosecutor in the 70s and 80s, Duterte knows cases cannot be filed without sufficient evidence.

Asked when the said evidence would be shown to the public, Panelo said, “The evidence will come out when formal charges are filed.”

The National Police Commission is currently investigating the 3 active police generals. 

Panelo added that Duterte’s public naming even before the filing of formal charges may in fact be a blessing in disguise for the involved cops because it gives their lawyers more time to study the possible case against them. 

“If I was their lawyer, I prefer that because I will have all the chance to study the case,” said Panelo. – Rappler.com