MANILA, Philippines — Was President Rodrigo Duterte serious when he claimed former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II was responsible for the two ambushes on Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot? “It’s a joke, not an accusation,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said during a Malacañang press conference on Wednesday afternoon. “If you notice in some of his speeches, when drugs is the subject matter, he always, names Loot,” Panelo said in a mix of Filipino and English. The former Davao City mayor said further in Cebuano: "I wasn't the one who ordered his ambush, it was Roxas." READ: Vicente Loot extends vacation leavePhilstar.com reached out to Loot for a reaction on the president’s statements but has not received a response as of this post.

Source: Philippine Star December 19, 2018 12:33 UTC