Former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban promised the House Quad Committee (Quad Comm) he would expose people behind the “Davao mafia” and reveal the identity of the so-called “queen” that they seek to protect and install as president in 2028.
However, Guban on Thursday requested lawmakers for more time to make his disclosures, citing ongoing threats against his family.
“Your Honor, this time I cannot give you the categorical answer because of security,” Guban told Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun when asked about the “save the queen” operation.
While cautious about specifics, Guban indicated that he already knew the conspirators, describing them as “hardcore killers” connected to the Davao group.
“You don’t scare me, wala akong notice na pupunta ako ngayon, Sinabi ko naman lahat, ano pa ba ang gusto ng mga yan,” former President Rodrigo Duterte said on the possibility of being subpoenaed to attend the Quad Comm hearing at the House.
He suggested these individuals were working to “clean their names,” hinting at the existence of a campaign to protect certain interests by any means necessary.
Earlier in the hearing, Guban accused the “Davao mafia” of orchestrating his incarceration and that of others as part of a larger scheme “to save the queen in order to become the next president.”
During Khonghun’s questioning, Guban hesitated to provide further details, particularly about whether he was implicating the Duterte family, despite his earlier readiness to discuss the alleged network.
Khonghun asked the witness directly, “Mr. Jimmy Guban, just answer yes or no, are you referring to the Duterte family?”
To which Guban replied, “Sorry, your honor, maybe next time.”
The whistleblower attributed his hesitation to fears for his family’s safety, saying, “In fact, an employee of a congressman here has been following my son
“There was also a call from a Davao businessman, threatening my son… that he will be kidnapped,” he said.
Despite these threats, Guban vowed to reveal the full extent of the crimes perpetrated by the Davao group when he felt secure enough to talk.
During a hearing in August, Guban named Davao City congressman Paolo Duterte; lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte; and former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang as alleged owners of the magnetic lifters used to smuggle shabu into the country in 2018.
The scandal surfaced when law enforcement seized two lifters with 355 kilos of shabu, while four other lifters—which reportedly contained 1.68 tons of shabu worth P11 billion—evaded capture, flooding the market and causing street prices to plummet.
As this developed, Former National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo said he is prepared to face criminal charges after being named as an organizer of extrajudicial killings perpetrated against drug suspects at the behest of the Duterte administration.
“We will face those charges if they materialize,” Leonardo said in a mixture of Filipino and English on Friday.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has allowed Leonardo to formally answer allegations that he helped plan the 2020 murder of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
He vowed to cooperate with authorities but declined to make any further comments to the media.
Leonardo was given until next Friday to submit his counter-affidavit to the allegations.
Meanwhile, a former bodyguard and driver of former President Rodrigo Duterte denied allegations he was involved in the supposed reward system in the war on drugs.
SPO4 Sanson “Sonny” Buenaventura, Duterte’s alleged go-between to the Davao Death Squad, told the Quad Comm that all accusations against him are made up.
“Everything they are saying about me, all their accusations… there is no truth to them, Buenaventura said in Filipino.
Both confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas and confessed hitman Edgar Matobato identified Buenaventura as one of the key players in Duterte’s alleged hit squad.
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