Palace: Info on Taiwan ‘triad’ came from ‘credible sources’

MALACAÑANG on Thursday said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that Taiwan is the source of illegal drugs in the Philippines came from “credible international sources.”

“He (Duterte) did say that he was not blaming any particular country but that there was organized crime that was behind all these drug traffic and he did refer to Bamboo triad,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“As per his (Duterte) statement, he has very credible sources – credible international sources,” the Palace official added.

Abella’s statement came after the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) disputed last Wednesday Duterte’s allegation that Taiwan is among the major suppliers of illegal drugs in the Philippines.

“Taiwan has never been the source of illegal drugs entering the Philippines. Rather,

Taiwan is the best partner for the Philippines to jointly combat against the illegal transnational drugs,” Teco said in a statement.

It added that Taiwan was among the nations that help the Philippines fight against rampant narcotics trade.

On Tuesday night, Duterte said United Bamboo and another international crime syndicate, Hong Kong-based 14K, were shipping illegal drugs to Manila before sending them to the United States. “The drug proliferation, it’s been operated by 14K [and] Bamboo triad. They have taken over. They are cooking the shabu on the high seas,” Duterte said.

“We are in trouble. And this is the first time that I would reveal it because we’re talking about the Constitution and the interest of our country, and of course, the bill of rights and due process,” he added.

United Bamboo and 14K are among the organized crime groups that have long reportedly been operating the drug transactions in the Philippines even before Duterte assumed office last year.