MANILA, Philippines — Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday backed the call to reopen the Senate’s investigation on illegal drugs after a video linking presidential son Paolo Duterte to a drug syndicate circulated on social media.
Earlier, Hontiveros’ fellow opposition member, Senator Franklin Drilon, broached the idea of reopening the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s investigation on illegal drugs after a fresh and “very serious” allegation against the former Davao City Vice mayor surfaced.
READ: Drilon: Reopen ‘shabu’ probe amid video tagging Paolo Duterte
The committee is tasked to investigate alleged wrongdoings of government officials and its attached agencies in aid of legislation.
“I fully support the move to reopen the hearing on illegal drugs, especially in light of these videos. The videos presented disturbing documents and data trail that cannot be ignored,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
A video titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist” showed a record of names of alleged “principals” of a drug syndicate and the amounts supposedly deposited to their bank accounts.
The video named President Rodrigo Duterte’s eldest son and Agriculture Undersecretary Waldo Carpio, brother of lawyer Manases Carpio, who is the husband of Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte, as among those in the purported list.
A hooded man identified as alias “Bikoy” also claimed he personally saw the young Duterte’s tattoo, which supposedly bears the alphanumeric code assigned to the former vice mayor in his alleged “tara” collection.
Hontiveros said the allegations against Paolo “deserve serious and strict investigation.”
“And if they prove to be true, they expose the hypocrisy of this administration. The President himself has admitted that his drug war has failed,” she said.
“Too many lives have been lost, government refuses to implement a public health approach to the drug problem and we are nowhere near to solving it. Transparency is the first step to accountability. The truth deserves to see the light of day,” she added.
In 2017, then Vice Mayor Duterte attended a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the P6.4 billion “shabu” shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC) amid allegations the was involved in the powerful “Davao Group” within the bureau.
Paolo has already denied the claims of the video and tagged opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as the one behind the exposé.
READ: Paolo Duterte: Video exposé ‘stamped with indelible Trillanes signature’
His father, President Duterte, is also convinced that the “yellows,” led by Trillanes, are the ones behind what he called “black propaganda.”
Yellow is the political color of the opposition Liberal Party.
READ: Trillanes, opposition behind video linking Paolo to drugs – Duterte
On Friday, Trillanes denied involvement in the video circulating online linking Paolo to illegal drugs but wished he was part of what he called “serious” and “well-explained” allegations against the presidential son.
READ: Trillanes: I wish I was part of the video exposé vs Paolo Duterte but I’m not
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