Acierto: Duterte ordered my arrest for knowing Michael Yang’s drug ties

Dismissed Police Colonel Eduardo Acierto. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Police Colonel Eduardo Acierto on Thursday told lawmakers that former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his arrest for knowing about former Presidential Economic Adviser Michael Yang and Allan Lim’s alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Acierto bared this during the House of Representatives quad committee’s hearing on Duterte’s drug war.

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“Wala pong iba kung ‘di yung dating Pangulong Duterte (None other than former President Duterte.),” the former anti-narcotics agent said after Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr. asked him who he thought was the person behind the death of his comrades.

“Gusto nila kaming patayin dahil sa na-diskubre namin involvement ni Michael Yang and Allan Lim. Actually, kinasuhan nila ako, meron ako warrant of arrest, meron nakapatong sa akin na P10 o P50 million para mapatay nila ako,” he added.

(They wanted to kill us because we discovered the involvement of Michael Yang and Allan Lim. They filed a case against me, I have a warrant of arrest, and they placed a P10- to P50-million bounty on my head so they can kill me.)

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Later during the hearing, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel asked Acierto about the bounty.

“Why do you think a P50-million bounty was placed on your head?” Pimentel asked.

“Noon pong hearing sa [Senate] blue ribbon [committee] lumabas ‘yung info na ‘yan, meron na pong patong yung ulo namin lalo na nung lumabas ‘yung matrix na ako ‘yung nasa taas,” Acierto said.

(During the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing, the information that there was a bounty on our heads surfaced and I’m on top of that list.)

When asked who he thinks placed the bounty on his head? Acierto answered Duterte and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s former aide.

“Dahil po sa ginawa kong report na nadiskubre ‘yung kanilang connection kay Michael Yang and Allan Lim,” he added.

(That’s because of the report I wrote when I discovered their connection with Michael Yang and Allan Lim.)

In 2017, Acierto tagged Yang as a drug lord. He also claimed that Duterte, Go, and then Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa were aware of this but they had turned a blind eye to Yang’s involvement.

In July this year, Acierto also claimed that Duterte wanted the military and the police to kill him due to his move to have Yang and Lim investigated due to their alleged link to the illegal drug trade.