Vice President Sara Duterte | PHOTO: Official Facebook apge of Inday Sara Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker David Suarez on Monday asked Vice President Sara Duterte if the House of Representatives quad-committee should stop its probe into drug smuggling just because her husband and brother were mentioned during the hearing.
Suarez said if that is the case, then lawmakers do not deserve the people’s votes.
“Trabaho lang, walang personalan ito (We’re just working, it’s nothing personal). Part of our mandate as legislators is to ferret out the truth. Should we shirk from our sworn duty only because the husband and brother of the VP are allegedly involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs?” he asked.
“Then ano pa silbi namin dito in government service? (Then what is our role here in government service?) I don’t think we deserve the people’s vote and trust if all we should do is stop the investigation every time the name of a big personality comes up. The truth should always prevail no matter what. The people deserve no less,” he added.
On Sunday, the Vice President said the allegations against her husband and brother are “political harassment.” She also said she would keep her distance as she could not speak for them.
Last Friday, the quad-committee started its hearing on the illegal activities inside Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the illegal drug trade, alleged connivance of government offices, and human rights violations.
Former Bureau of Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban told the quad-panel that former Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda sent emissaries in 2018 to warn him that he would die if he named Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, lawyer Manases Carpio, and former President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang as individuals involved in the illegal drugs shipment in 2018.
Carpio is the husband of Vice President Duterte, while Rep. Duterte is her elder brother.
Guban was referring to the one ton of shabu worth P6.8 billion, concealed in a magnetic lifter, which eluded authorities in 2018.
The House and the Senate investigated the matter and Guban attended the hearings where he was cited for contempt.
READ: 1 ton of shabu worth P6.8B eludes PDEA, PNP
Guban said 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 Rep. Duterte, Carpio, and Yang.
READ: ‘Don’t name Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio, Yang in 2018 shabu import mess’
READ: Impeachment rumors no surprise for VP Sara
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales said the quad-panel’s investigation traces back to the probe started by the House committee on dangerous drugs regarding the controlled operation where anti-drug operatives tracked a P3.6-billion shabu shipment from the Port of Subic to a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga.
“The truth of the matter is the probe started as early as early 2023, where the drug haul in Mexico, Pampanga was worth P3.6 billion. How can it be political? The VP was still in the Department of Education then,” Gonzales said.
“It just so happened that the panel stumbled upon the intertwined relationships of alleged drug lords and those involved in the illegal Pogos. And a whistleblower was willing to come out and spill the beans,” he added.
Gonzales also urged Vice President Duterte and her relatives to just answer the allegations.
“The most important thing here is that the hearings are conducted in a very fair manner. No witch hunts. No prejudgments. No badgering of witnesses. And documents should match or bolster oral testimonies. And I think we did all that,” he said.
“I think it would be better if the VP just faced the issues head-on. Why can’t they just face Congress? We have already sent our invites. We will be very fair and they are also entitled to that – presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” he added.
Suarez echoed Gonzales’ views, saying the issue could be settled immediately if the Dutertes would answer the allegations under oath.
“They don’t have to hide. They don’t have to make excuses by saying these are all distractions. Face Congress if you have nothing to hide. They can settle the issues once and for all if they make declarations under oath in Congress,” he noted.
Rep. Duterte, Antiporda, and Gutierrez — who currently heads the residential Task Force on Media Security — have denied Guban’s accusations.
According to Rep. Duterte, he has never met Guban, adding that the ex-BOC official cannot be treated as a star witness as he is not credible having been cited for contempt for lying at the Senate blue ribbon committee.
READ: Rep. Duterte denies knowing Guban, calls him not credible as witness
Guban, former PDEA deputy director Ismael Fajardo, and former police officer Eduardo Acierto 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.
READ: Acierto, ex-PDEA officer, others indicted over shabu in magnetic lifters