Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and Mans Carpio —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
BACOLOR, PAMPANGA—A former customs intelligence officer serving a life sentence for drug smuggling told a congressional joint committee hearing on Friday that the real “owners” of an P11-billion drug shipment in 2018 were former President Rodrigo Duterte’s son, son-in-law and Chinese economic adviser.
Jimmy Guban, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, and flanked by New Bilibid Prison guards, made the bombshell allegation during the first hearing called by four committees of the House of Representatives that are looking at major criminal activities during the Duterte administration.
During Friday’s hearing at the Bacolor municipal hall’s convention center, Guban said he got entangled “in a grand conspiracy to cleanse the first family’s name and Michael Yang,” the ex-president’s Davao City-based Chinese friend, who served briefly as his economic adviser.
2018 Senate probe
He alleged that Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and Mans Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, were part of the conspiracy to smuggle 355 kilograms of “shabu” (crystal meth) hidden in steel magnetic lifters that passed inspection by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) after they arrived at the Manila International Container Terminal in August 2018.
READ: ‘Don’t name Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio, Yang in 2018 shabu import mess’
But during a Senate inquiry later that year, Guban said that it was former Police Col. Eduardo Acierto who directed him to look for a consignee for the magnetic lifters used to conceal the shabu.
In 2017, Acierto tagged Yang as a drug lord, and more recently said the former president, Sen. Christopher Go and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa were aware of this but had turned a blind eye on his involvement. Acierto is now in hiding and claims that the ex-leader wanted him killed.
Guban walked back on his accusations against Acierto and said he was pressured not to name the Dutertes and their associates. “I am seeking for truth and justice,” he said during Friday’s hearing. “I would like to be part of the investigation … to shed light on the proliferation of illegal drugs.”
Recantation
“For fear that my son and other members of my family will be killed, including myself, I testified during the (Senate) hearing on Oct. 30, 2018, and instead of pointing or naming Pulong Duterte, Mans Carpio and Michael Yang as the owners of the shipment based on the intelligence reports I gathered, I pointed to Acierto as the one who had knowledge that the shipment [had] illegal drugs,” Guban said.
He added that he had recanted his allegations during his trial, or a year before multi-committee investigation started.
“So, you lied in the Senate blue ribbon and now you’re trying to convince us this is the true testimony?” Abante asked.
“Yes, because now I’m no longer afraid to fight back—there’s no more knife to my chest,” Guban said. “I lied before because they were threatening me. So many people were dying (at) the slightest hint of dissent. But now I see there is a possibility of achieving justice.”
Parts of his recanted and current testimonies still lined up. It was he and Acierto who suspected that the magnetic lifters might contain shabu.
Guban also said that Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, allegedly threatened him, warning to “never mention the names Pulong (Duterte), Michael Yang and Mans as we know where your family lives and that your son lives in Makati.”
Former National Irrigation Authority Executive Director Benny Antiporda was also implicated in Guban’s testimony as being involved with the shabu shipments.
‘Quadcomm’
Guban was one of more than half a dozen people called to testify at the hearing by four House committee heads—Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (dangerous drugs), Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez (public order and safety), Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Paduano (public accounts) and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante (human rights).
Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales said the “quadcomm” decided to hold the hearing in Pampanga as it was the center of all the House inquiries—the P3.6-billion drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga, in 2023; the raided Lucky South 99, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in Porac in 2024; and the massive tracts of land allegedly amassed by Chinese nationals posing as Filipinos.
Guban was summoned to testify in the probe into the “intricate web of Chinese criminal syndicates” involved in Pogos, illegal drug trade, torture, murder and gross violations of human rights.
Yang had been linked to the P3.6-million shabu shipment in September 2023 in Mexico, Pampanga, as well as the illegal Pogo activities.
Antiporda: ‘All lies’
In a statement sent to House reporters, Antiporda said that Guban’s allegations “are lies of great magnitude as magnified by the fact that it lacks any evidentiary support but his self-serving allegations.”
“For one, I do not know him as he himself admitted that he does not know me. For another, while I know Michael Yang, Mans Carpio and Polong by their names, I do not personally know any of them, have not met them, much less talked to any of them personally or electronically at any occasions,” he added.
“I would like to emphasize that I totally abhor corruption and it is a common knowledge, and it is with more reason that I am absolutely against illegal drugs,” said the former environment undersecretary.
‘Inveterate liar’
Congressman Duterte also denied knowing Guban or “having any kind of transaction or connection with him so there is no reason for him to be threatened if he mentions my name.”
“I wish to remind the public that the words ‘star witness’ only apply to people who are telling the truth and have credibility,” he added. “Guban is not that person as he was already cited in contempt by the Senate blue ribbon committee for lying.” Gutierrez dismissed Guban’s allegations against him as “all falsehoods” made by an “inveterate liar.”
“How can I threaten him on behalf of people that I don’t know and who also do not know me?” he said in a statement.
Gutierrez said that Guban’s claims were “clearly fed to him by someone else.”
“As my conscience is clear, I am not bothered at all by all the lies Guban has been making nowadays. 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.
Gutierrez admitted that he visited Guban when the ex-customs intelligence officer was detained at the Senate, but it was only to “check on his health condition” as many believed Guban was feigning ill health to avoid further questioning.
“As a lowly reporter, I am not in any position to make any threats to him, and according to him, in front of a Senate blue ribbon committee staff. As a matter of rule, visits to any Senate detainee had to be approved by the chair and the result reported to him,” he said.
A chance to explain
In an interview, Barbers tried to deflect allegations that the committee was engaging in politicking against the Duterte family, which has had a fallout with the Marcoses.
“And if any allegation is not sufficiently substantiated, we will not pay it heed,” he said. “We’re simply giving him a chance to explain himself (Guban).”
Asked whether he found Guban credible, Barbers said that the former customs officer “wanted to achieve true justice because he was forced to say things that he was not supposed to in the past.”
“Of course when you ask me I have my personal opinion but we’ll see,” he said. —WITH A REPORT FROM JULIE M. AURELIO