Ex-Bangsamoro solon Rimbang denies bankrolling P3.5-billion Laos shabu shipment 

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bangsamoro parliament member Edrieza Rimbang has denied financing the recently foiled attempt to ship P3.5 billion worth of "shabu (meth)" from Laos into the Philippines.

In a nine-minute video posted on Facebook on Thursday, October 22, Rimbang denied having connived with any individual to arrange for drug shipments to enter the Philippines.

"What they are saying, that we are involved in that Laos [shipment], is not true," he said in Filipino.

He also dismissed claims that he bankrolled the operation, pointing to his defeat in last month's Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, which he blamed on a lack of funds. "Now they are saying I financed drugs. Where would I get the money?" he said.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla named Rimbang on October 16 as one of 11 persons of interest in the case, saying he was "believed to be the financier of the entire operation."  

Remulla claimed Rimbang chartered the private jet that carried the 521 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine intercepted in Laos. 

The flight had first been scheduled to land at a general aviation hangar at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on September 26, but its date was moved three times, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

The flight manifest had deceptively declared the aircraft's cargo as vape products.

Rimbang was among four persons of interest who did not appear before the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, along with Abdulkarim Macalatas, whom Remulla identified as the intended consignee, Abdullah Rimbang Macarimbang and Aldren Samante.  

Rimbang did not say in the video whether he would honor the subpoena. He did reject social media posts claiming he had fled abroad. "I did not leave. I did not leave our country," he said. 

Nartatez said on October 16 that Rimbang was believed to be in the Philippines.

Rimbang was appointed to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the region's interim parliament, by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019. 

He ran for the Lanao del Sur 3rd district seat in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's first parliamentary elections on September 14 but lost to Abdul Rauf Adiong of the SIAP party.

In the video, Rimbang said he owed his appointment to the Duterte family and suggested his political ties explained 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.