Chinese envoy not linked to drug trade — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday slammed reports misquoting President Duterte as saying that Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua has links with a certain businessman from Davao who is  also being linked to the alleged P6.8-billion shipment of shabu that slipped past the Bureau of Customs early this year.

Zhao reportedly “went ballistic” over reports linking him to drugs, which hit the global news following Duterte’s speech the other night.

“He went ballistic,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday in a hastily called press briefing at Malacañang on the matter.

“I think it’s very clear that what the President meant was, number one, he cannot believe that (businessman) Michael Yang is involved in the drug trade,” Roque said, adding  that Yang was even part of the entourage of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who had visited the country last year.

“Number two, because he was saying that he cannot believe that Michael Yang is involved in the drug trade, the report that the President linked Chinese ambassador to a drug lord is obviously false,” Roque said.

The Palace official made the statement a day after Duterte discussed his take on reports that a former anti-narcotic cop “is being pressured” to pin down a businessman whom the chief executive named as Michael Yang.

Duterte mentioned the ambassador’s name in his speech before representatives of the uniformed services who trooped to the Palace last Wednesday to express their gratitude for his support to the troops. 

“Nakilala ko lang ’yan when he went to Davao 15 years ago. Wala pa ’yang droga-droga (I have known him since he went to Davao 15 years ago. No drugs yet then),” he said, referring to Yang.

Duterte said he would not believe the allegations that the ambassador and the  businessman could be involved in illegal activities.

No link to drug trade

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano also clarified reports claiming that the President had accused Yang of being involved in illegal drugs and linking him to Zhao.

“If you review the speech, the footage, he was saying that there are people trying to destroy the reputation of a certain Michael Yang,” he said.

“He was in fact defending (Yang)… He was saying that it cannot be. Why? Because the ambassador even sleeps at his house. And the ambassador, he said, is part of the military,” he added.

Cayetano said Duterte used the ambassador as a “guarantee” that the allegations against the businessman were not true.

In a speech before the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Thursday night, Duterte defended Yang from illegal drug allegations, citing his close ties to the Chinese government.

Some reports, however, interpreted the President’s statement as if he was linking the ambassador to the drug trade.

Cayetano urged media organizations to correct their reports, saying it could have an impact on the country’s ties with the international community. – With Janvic Mateo