Rep. Duterte denies knowing Guban, calls him not credible as witness
BACOLOR, Pampanga — Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has denied knowing former Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, who name-dropped the lawmaker as among those involved in the missing shabu shipment concealed in magnetic lifters.
In a statement on Friday after Guban testified before the House of Representatives quad-committee hearing, Duterte said he has never transacted with the former BOC official.
“Hindi ko po kilala si Jimmy Guban at sigurado ako na hindi rin niya ako kilala. Wala kaming anumang transaction o ugnayan kaya walang rason na siya ay pagbantaan kung babanggitin man niya ang pangalan ko,” he said.
(I do not know Jimmy Guban and I’m sure that he does not know me. We have no transaction whatsoever or any connection. That’s why I have no reason to threaten him if he name-drops me.)
Guban during the quad-committee hearing said that former Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda sent an emissary to warn him that he would die if he named Duterte, his brother-in-law Atty. Manases Carpio, and businessman Michael Yang as individuals involved in the illegal drug shipment last 2018.
Guban said that a certain Paul Gutierrez, supposedly part of Antiporda’s staff, relayed the death threat and even said that his child could be kidnapped if he mentioned the said individuals.
READ: ‘Don’t name Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio, Yang in 2018 shabu import mess’
The Senate and the House were then hearing the issue of illegal drugs concealed inside magnetic lifters that had eluded authorities.
Duterte also noted that the label “star witness” is only reserved for individuals with credibility and not Guban, who was cited for contempt by the Senate blue ribbon committee.
“Nais ko pong ipa-alala sa taumbayan na ang salitang ‘star witness’ ay humahalimbawa lamang sa mga taong nagsasalita ng katotohanan lamang at may kredibilidad,” the lawmaker said.
(I want to remind the public that the word ‘star witness’ is only applicable to people who speak the truth and have credibility.)
“Hindi po si Jimmy Guban ang taong ‘yan, sapagka’t siya po ay na i-contempt na ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee dahil sa kanyang pagsisinungaling. Klaro po na walang kredibilidad ang taong yan at walang basehan ang kanyang mga sinasabi noon pa man, kaya di ko po alam kung bakit bigla po siyang naging star witness dito. Nais ko din po sana makita ang kanyang sinumpaang salaysay upang mapag aralan din namin ng abogado ko,” he added.
(That person is not Jimmy Guban because he was cited for contempt at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee because he was lying. It is clear that this person has no credibility and that his statements have no basis even back then, that’s why I do not know why I do not know why he is being treated as a star witness here. I also want to see his sworn affidavit so that me and my lawyer can study it.)
Duterte was one of the individuals that House committee on human rights chairperson and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. asked to be invited to the next quad-committee hearing. The other individuals are Carpio, former Davao councilor Nilo Abellera Jr., Antiporda, and Gutierrez.
Rep. Duterte is the son of former President Duterte, while Carpio is the ex-president’s son-in-law and the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte. Yang, meanwhile, is the former economic adviser of the former president.
Aside from Rep. Duterte, Antiporda had also denied knowing or talking to all of the individuals mentioned.
Guban appeared in the Senate and House hearings in 2018 after anti-narcotics agents found that one ton of shabu worth P6.8 billion eluded authorities. The illegal substance was concealed using magnetic lifters.
According to then Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) head Aaron Aquino, the magnetic lifters were similar to the one seized previously at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).
READ: 1 ton of shabu worth P6.8B eludes PDEA, PNP
Eventually, Aquino said that the magnetic lifters could have encased as much as 1.6 tons of shabu, worth P11 billion.
Guban, former PDEA deputy director Ismael Fajardo, and former police officer Eduardo Acierto meanwhile were labeled as “core conspirators” in the plan to smuggle shabu into the country using the magnetic lifters.
Guban has been convicted of drug importation. During the quad-committee hearings, he was accompanied by Bureau of Corrections officers who secured him.
