DAVAO City Rep. Paolo Duterte challenged Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla to a hair follicle drug test after the Cabinet official described him as "high" when he claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued warrants of arrest against Sen. Bong Go and two other unnamed individuals.
Duterte said Remulla should "look in the mirror" first.
He chided Remulla for misdirecting his accusation, which he should direct to those in Malacañang.
"If you really want to know who is 'high' and who is 'spaced out,' the solution is quite simple. Let’s undergo a hair follicle drug test. Bring your boss along, plus his wife and child. So it’s just one round of testing and the discussion is over," Duterte said.
Quoting the word "sabog," which means burst, in Remulla's statement, Duterte said: "Maybe bursting with power. Bursting with corruption. Bursting with arrogance. And bursting with the delusion that the people no longer know how to distinguish those who are actually working from those who are just posing for the camera."
In an earlier statement, Duterte said that the administration is weaponizing the ICC against its opponents.
"To all the officials who are now playing blind and deaf just to please the administration, reflect on this — if they can turn their backs on their own allies now, what more will they do to you once you are no longer useful?" Duterte said.
"History teaches us that there are no permanent allies in politics — only permanent interests. And to the public, do not allow justice to become a political tool. The law must be fair, not a weapon against the opposition," he added.
Palace press officer Clarissa Castro denied that the administration is weaponizing the ICC against its opponents.
Meanwhile, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV urged the public not to believe Duterte's claims.
