Acop: Quad comm uncovers Duterte’s link to ‘grand criminal enterprise’

MANILA, Philippines — Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop believes the quad committee hearings have uncovered tracks to a “grand criminal enterprise,” noting that former President Rodrigo Duterte seems to be at the center of it.

In his summary of all the 13 House of Representatives quad committee hearings dating back to August 16, Acop says Duterte and his trusted officials have figured in discussions, even as his administration strongly advocated against crime and illegal drugs.

“Let us not forget that countless lives were lost in the war on drugs — 30,000, according to data. We have heard from the families of the victims of this campaign, many of whom, according to former President Duterte, were considered collateral damage. ‘Sh*t happens,’ as Senator Bato dela Rosa put it,” Acop said in a mix of Filipino and English in his presentation late Thursday night.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the quad committee has started to uncover a grand criminal enterprise, and it would seem that at the center of it is the former President. This is incredibly painful because all of us were deceived,” he added.

According to Acop, testimonies from individuals invited by the quad committee — like dismissed Police Colonel Eduardo Acierto, former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, ex-Customs broker Mark Taguba, and self-confessed Duterte hitman Arturo Lascañas — have pinpointed to a select group of individuals all with links to Duterte.

“One of former President Duterte’s right-hand men, according to Col. Acierto, branded him as the lord of all drug lords. This is deeply painful because Duterte won on a platform of a hardline stance against illegal drugs and criminality, only for him to be the face of illegal drugs and criminality himself,” Acop said.

“It is through our combined efforts, through their stories, and our interpellations where we discovered common personalities that seem to just be consistently present in all the narratives,” he added.

However, Acop pointed out that despite the drug war, individuals linked to the illegal drug trade who were deemed close to Duterte — like former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang — were not investigated thoroughly.

Acop said that instead of looking into Acierto’s report implicating Yang, Duterte chose to turn a blind eye to it and threatened Acierto.

“Col. Acierto was the first to mention the connection with Michael Yang, but instead of taking action or investigating further, Duterte resorted to threatening Acierto’s life. I thought we were fighting a war on drugs. What happened? […] This report from Acierto reached high officials, but again, nothing happened,” Acop said.

“There have been numerous and recurring connections between Michael Yang and the drug trade. It’s confusing too, in the midst of the state policy known as the war on drugs, where thousands were killed — even based on hearsay — yet no one has moved against Michael Yang. In contrast, all his businesses have flourished and been successful,” he added.

Several of Duterte’s relatives and allies were subject to the quad committee’s investigation into the illicit drug trade, extrajudicial killings, and illegal activities inside Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs.

For example, Duterte’s son and now Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte was accused by Guban and Taguba of being involved in smuggling, including the shabu concealed in magnetic lifters in August 2018.

READ: ‘Don’t name Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio, Yang in 2018 shabu import mess’

On Thursday, Taguba said that Rep. Duterte heads the Davao group responsible for smuggling operations in the Bureau of Customs.

INQUIRER.net has contacted Rep. Duterte’s office for his comment on the issue, but his staffer said that the lawmaker would not issue a statement on Taguba’s claims since they do not know each other.

Previously, Representative Duterte also denied Guban’s accusations of involvement in the magnetic lifter scheme. According to the lawmaker, he does not know Guban and has never transacted with the former BOC official.

The lawmaker also noted that the label “star witness” is only reserved for individuals with credibility, not Guban, who was cited for contempt by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Yang’s name was also floated as part of discussions of Pogos and illegal drugs.  Duterte, however, told quad committee members in a previous hearing he would personally kill Yang if there were evidence linking him to the drug trade.

The quad committee’s hearing on Thursday was the last one for 2024, with the super-panel expected to submit its partial report to the plenary on Tuesday, December 17.  However, quad committee officials like Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said hearings will resume in January 2025.