Paolo Duterte refutes ties to shabu smuggling

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Rep. Paolo "Polong" Duterte said that he does not know the former Bureau of Customs intelligence officer who linked him and others to the smuggling of illegal drugs, including P11 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) confiscated in 2018.

“I do not know Jimmy Guban and I am sure that he does not know me either. We did not have any transactions or connections so there is no reason to threaten him if he ever says my name,” he said in a statement on Friday.

He reminded the public that for a person to become a “star witness” he must be truthful in his words and must have credibility.

“That person is not Jimmy Guban because he has been cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee because he was telling lies,” he noted.

The lawmaker underscored that it is clear that Guban’s testimonies do not have basis right from the start, so he wonders why the quad committee took him as a “star witness.”

“I would also want to see his sworn statement so that my lawyer and I can study it,” he added. 

Also implicated by Guban during the second joint hearing of the House of Representatives’ so-called quad committee were lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, and Chinese businessman Michael Yang, who served as economic adviser of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The quad committee is composed of the House panels on dangerous drugs, public order and safety, public accounts and human rights. Among other things, it is pursuing reports that funds from illegal activities of Philippine offshore gaming operators might have been used to reward law enforcers who executed drug suspects in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

— with Helen Flores