MANILA, Philippines — Media security task force chief Paul Gutierrez on Friday denied an accusation by a former Customs official that he had warned against naming Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, his brother-in-law Manases Carpio, and businessman Michael Yang in a 2018 “shabu” importation mess.
READ: ‘Spare Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio, Yang in shabu import mess’
Gutierrez, who currently heads the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) as its executive director, was name-dropped by former Bureau of Customs (BOC) official Jimmy Guban during a House quad-committee hearing.
Guban told lawmakers in the hearing that former environment undersecretary Benny Antiporda sent an emissary — whom he identified as Gutierrez — to warn him against naming Duterte, Carpio, and Yang in a Senate-House probe into the missing P6.8-billion shabu reportedly smuggled into the country through magnetic lifters.
READ: 1 ton of shabu worth P6.8B eludes PDEA, PNP
Guban claimed that Gutierrez told him that he would die if he tagged Duterte, Carpio, and Yang in the controversy.
But Gutierrez quickly denied the allegations in a statement, tagging Guban’s claims as mere “falsehoods clearly fed to him by someone else.”
“Time and again, Guban has been proven to be an inveterate liar. Our lawmakers should therefore be forewarned in believing anything he says. Truth must always fit with the evidence,” he said.
In defending himself, Gutierrez pointed out that he does not personally know, nor has he ever met, any member of the Duterte family, Carpio, or Yang.
He also mentioned that he never had any personal or professional dealings with Guban while he was covering the BOC as a journalist.
Gutierrez then stated that he was never a staffer of Antiporda and, as a “lowly” reporter and columnist for a newspaper, was not in any position to threaten Guban.
Additionally, he further questioned Guban’s claim, stating that he could not have visited Guban while he was detained by the Senate, as any such visits must be approved by the Senate blue ribbon committee chair.
“How can I threaten him on behalf of people that I don’t know and who also do not know me?” questioned Gutierrez.
“Also, if indeed, I did that, would this not be reported to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee leading to my being banned from further covering the Senate?” he added.
He, however, admitted that he did visit Guban once when he was detained “to check on his health condition” due to allegations that he was feigning being ill to avoid questioning at the time.
“I also want[ed] to confirm from him if a former National Press Club officer is his ‘PR’ as this former officer is seen attending the Senate hearings although he no longer represents any newspaper. He did not answer me,” he said.
Gutierrez then questioned Guban’s motive for linking him to the issue and disputed Guban’s claim that Michael Yang was a member of the National Press Club, stating that Yang had never even set foot at the NPC before.
“As my conscience is clear, I am not bothered at all by all the lies Guban has been making nowadays,” he said.
The House, for its part, summoned all the names Guban mentioned in the next quad-comm hearing, including Gutierrez.