Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday only her husband, Manases Carpio, and her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, could answer the allegations against them in connection with the smuggling of P11 billion worth of shabu hidden in magnetic lifters discovered at the Manila International Container Port in 2018.
“We talked about it and whatever issue pressed on him (Carpio), he is the only one who can answer it,” Duterte said in an interview during a book donation drive at the Davao City Library.
“Same with me, if there are issues involving me, I will be the only one to answer that,” she added.
Similarly, the Vice President said she cannot speak for her brother.
Former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban on Friday implicated Rep. Duterte, Carpio, and former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang in the intercepted shabu shipment in 2018.
Guban revealed this information in his affidavit and testimony before the House of Representatives quad committee investigating alleged links between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the illegal drug trade and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) tied to the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs.”
Guban said a lower-ranked Customs officer told him not to be afraid of the incoming shabu shipment in 2018.
“I was told: Don’t be afraid because the shipment belongs to Mans Carpio, Pulong Duterte, and Michael Yang,” Guban said.
Rep. Duterte said he does not know Guban, nor did he have any transaction or relationship with the former Customs agent.
“I want to remind the public that the word ‘star witness’ can only be accorded to a person who is telling the truth and has credibility. That person is not Jimmy Guban because he was previously cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for lying,” he said in a statement.
“It is clear he has no credibility and his statements have no basis, that is why I am not sure why he suddenly became a star witness. I also want to see his sworn affidavit so we can study it with my lawyer,” the younger Duterte said.
Yang’s lawyer, Raymond Fortun, also dismissed Guban’s statements as “hearsay in nature.”
“Mr. Guban had made statements under oath in the past which are contradictory to what he is saying now. The Supreme Court has looked with disfavor upon retractions of testimonies previously given in court,” Fortun said.
“Mr. Yang’s name does not appear in any of the shipping documents, nor is he the consignee. By law, he is not the owner of the shipment,” he added.
In his affidavit, Guban said Davao City councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera Jr. introduced him to the smuggling operation in early 2017.
He said Abellera described himself as the “business partner and trusted man” of Rep. Duterte, Carpio and Yang, whom he described during the hearing as “a big-time importer of drugs.”
Yang is currently the subject of an arrest and detention order issued by the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs after being cited in contempt for repeatedly refusing to attend hearings related to his alleged involvement in a P3.6-billion drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga last year.
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