In response to an affidavit executed by former Berya drug group member Ricky Serenio, where he accused 2016 Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Mar Roxas, Senator Franklin Drilon, and dismissed Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog of protecting slain drug lord Melvin Odicta, Sr., the LP came out with an attack on the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, the party accused the administration of having a habit of “manufacturing witnesses” with “questionable records and reputations.”

They likened the accusations to those made towards detained Senator Leila de Lima.

The party characterized the affidavit as “baseless testimony of a so-called bagman of a drug syndicate.”

The LP claimed the administration was diverting from real issues, which they listed as rising prices on primary commodities, extrajudicial killings, corruption, and drug smuggling at the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella replied to the claims by denying any involvement, saying the LP is “afraid of its own ghost.”

Previously, Serenio, in his affidavit, claimed he met with Odicta in 2015, who discussed the “flourishing” illegal drug market in the then-Negros Island Region (NIR) and claimed Roxas and Drilon pushed for Odicta to expand into the neighboring island, with Mabilog as a supporting partner.

Roxas earlier responded to the allegations, saying a certain individual in the province is “desperate” for the attention of the president, who visited Bacolod City last Sunday for the highlights of the MassKara Festival.

The former Department of the Interior and Local Government secretary also added, the residents of the Western Visayas would never believe the accusations.”/DGB, WDJ