A former lawmaker from the Bangsamoro region has stood before his own phone camera to say that a shipment of half a ton of methamphetamine, intercepted after being flown in from Laos, was not his doing. Edrieza Rimbang's denial arrives in a season when his political fortunes have already collapsed, and when the state's accusations against him rest on claims that have yet to be tested in public. The story sits at the uneasy meeting point of narcotics enforcement, the fragile politics of a newly formed autonomous region, and old loyalties that can make a man's name travel faster than the evidenc
Ex-Bangsamoro Solon Rimbang Denies Financing P3.5-Billion Laos Shabu Shipment
"Where would I get the money?"
Mark
Rimbang went on Facebook rather than to the CIDG. Why does that matter?
Mimi
Because the subpoena is the formal route. He answered the public accusation in a nine-minute video but didn't say whether he'd honor the summons, and he was one of four persons of interest who didn't appear.
Luke
Worth being clear about status. He's a person of interest, not a charged defendant. The financier and jet charter claims come from Remulla, and the reporting doesn't show the evidence behind them.
Mark
His main defense is that he lost the election for lack of funds. Does that hold up?
Mimi
It's his argument: a man who couldn't fund a campaign couldn't fund a P3.5-billion shipment.
Luke
But it's an argument, not proof. A losing campaign says little about other sources of money. Equally, the accusation hasn't been shown to be true in what we have.
Mark
He also brought up the Duterte family. Why?
Mimi
He says he owes his 2019 appointment to them and suggests he's been named because he's pro-Duterte.
Luke
Remulla has said there's no evidence linking the Duterte family to the shipment, and that Rimbang and the family were long political allies under the same party. Those two statements aren't in conflict.
Mark
What's still unknown?
Luke
Where Rimbang is. He says he's in the country, and Nartatez said the same on October 16, but nobody has said he's been located. Also unknown is whether he'll answer the subpoena.
Le Pouls
- A P3.5-billion shabu cargo, 521 kilograms of it, was stopped mid-journey and disguised on paper as vape products.
- The Interior Secretary has named a former Bangsamoro lawmaker as the financier and charterer of the jet, setting off a fierce public dispute.
- The accused has answered with a defiant video, pointing to his electoral defeat and empty pockets as proof he could not have funded such a scheme.
- He has not said whether he will appear before CIDG investigators, and four named men skipped the earlier summons, leaving the case unsettled.
A former lawmaker from the Bangsamoro region has stood before his own phone camera to say that a shipment of half a ton of methamphetamine, intercepted after being flown in from Laos, was not his doing. Edrieza Rimbang's denial arrives in a season when his political fortunes have already collapsed, and when the state's accusations against him rest on claims that have yet to be tested in public. The story sits at the uneasy meeting point of narcotics enforcement, the fragile politics of a newly formed autonomous region, and old loyalties that can make a man's name travel faster than the evidence about him.
On Thursday, October 22, a former Bangsamoro lawmaker sat down to answer a charge that had trailed his name for six days. Edrieza Rimbang, speaking in Filipino in a nine-minute Facebook video, insisted the claim that he was tied to a shipment out of Laos was untrue.
The cargo at the center of the matter was 521 kilograms of suspected shabu, worth about P3.5 billion, intercepted aboard a private jet. Aviation authorities said the flight was meant to land at a general aviation hangar in Manila on September 26, but its schedule shifted three times, and its manifest listed the contents as vape products.
On October 16, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla named Rimbang as one of eleven persons of interest, calling him the believed financier and the man who chartered the plane. Rimbang answered that he had made no arrangements with anyone to bring drugs into the country. He pointed to his loss in last month's Bangsamoro parliamentary election, which he blamed on a shortage of money. "Where would I get the money?" he asked.
The September 14 vote was the region's first parliamentary contest, and Rimbang had lost his Lanao del Sur seat to a rival from another party. He tied the accusation to his past loyalty to the Duterte family, who had appointed him to the interim parliament, saying he was being linked to Laos simply because he was pro-Duterte. Remulla has said investigators have found no evidence tying the family to the shipment.
Rimbang was among four men who skipped a CIDG appearance, and he did not say whether he would answer the subpoena. He did deny rumors that he had fled, insisting he had never left the country. What remains open is whether he and the others come forward, and whether the accusations can stand on proof beyond official statements.
On Thursday, October 22, a former Bangsamoro lawmaker posted a nine-minute video on Facebook to answer a charge that has followed his name for six days. Edrieza Rimbang, speaking in Filipino, said the claim that he was involved in a shipment out of Laos was not true.
The shipment in question was a foiled attempt to bring P3.5 billion worth of shabu, or methamphetamine, into the Philippines. The suspected drugs, 521 kilograms of them, were intercepted in Laos aboard a private jet. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the flight had been scheduled to land at a general aviation hangar at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on September 26, but its date was moved three times. The flight manifest declared the cargo as vape products.
On October 16, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla named Rimbang as one of 11 persons of interest in the case. He said Rimbang was believed to be the financier of the entire operation, and claimed he had chartered the jet that carried the drugs.
Rimbang rejected that in his video. He said he had not connived with anyone to arrange drug shipments into the country. He also pointed to his own recent political fortunes as evidence against the idea that he had money to spend. He lost in last month's Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, a result he blamed on a lack of funds. "Now they are saying I financed drugs. Where would I get the money?" he asked.
That election was the first parliamentary vote for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, held on September 14. Rimbang ran for the Lanao del Sur 3rd district seat and lost to Abdul Rauf Adiong of the SIAP party. Before that, he had sat in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the region's interim parliament, to which former President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him in 2019.
Rimbang tied the accusation to those politics. He said he owed his appointment to the Duterte family and suggested that was why he had been named. "Let's not link me to Laos just because I am pro-Duterte," he said. Remulla has said investigators found no evidence connecting the Duterte family to the shipment, though he noted that Rimbang and the family had long been political allies who ran under the same party.
Rimbang was one of four persons of interest who did not appear before the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. The others were Abdulkarim Macalatas, whom Remulla identified as the intended consignee, Abdullah Rimbang Macarimbang and Aldren Samante. In the video, Rimbang did not say whether he would honor the subpoena. He did dispute social media posts claiming he had fled abroad: "I did not leave. I did not leave our country." Nartatez said on October 16 that Rimbang was believed to be in the Philippines.
What to watch is whether Rimbang or the other three men who skipped the CIDG appearance present themselves to investigators, and whether the financing and jet charter claims are backed with evidence beyond Remulla's statements.
Citations marquantes
Let's not link me to Laos just because I am pro-Duterte.— Edrieza Rimbang, in a Facebook video
Rimbang was believed to be the financier of the entire operation.— Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla
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Politics & Governance