BOC whistleblower: Paolo Duterte only cleared in P6.8-B shabu shipment

Former Customs X-ray Division Chief Atty. Lourdes Mangaoang at the House hearing on alleged shabu shipment. INQUIRER file photo / Lyn Rillon

“I am very sorry but I am just telling the truth.”

This was what Customs official Maria Lourdes Mangaoang said in an interview with Inquirer on Saturday, noting that she only cleared Paolo Duterte from his involvement in the latest shabu smuggling worth P6.8 billion.

Mangaoang, who was formerly the chief of the BOC X-ray division, said she only cleared Duterte in the shabu shipments with consignees Vecaba Trading and SMYD Trading but said she had no knowledge of his possible dealings during the time of former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon.

“Nagagalit sila kung bakit ko kin-lear si Paolo Duterte. Sinasabi ko kin-lear ko lang si Paolo Duterte dito sa SMYD shipment at saka dito sa Vecaba shipment. Doon sa nangyari last year kay Faeldon wala akong alam dun,” she said.

READ: Paolo Duterte elated after whistleblower clears him of shabu smuggling

She then proved that Paolo had no links with former Customs Intelligence Officer Jimmy Guban, who allegedly has involvement in the shabu shipment because Guban was not promoted when the Duterte administration started.

“Si Guban wala kaming makitang link kay Paolo. Si Guban kung malakas siya kay Paolo pag-upong pag-upo ng Duterte admin dapat na-promote na yan,” she said.

Mangaoang, then revealed that she had never met Paolo but she had knowledge of him.

“I have never met Paolo Duterte di ko pa siya nami-meet of course I know about him but I have never met him,” she said.

The P6.8-billion worth of smuggled shabu was found in Cavite in August with the discovery of the magnetic lifters. It was later claimed by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Chief Aaron Aquino that the illegal drugs inside the magnetic lifters were worth P11 billion. /jpv

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