VP Sara denies receiving P2 billion from ex-Velasco aide

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has denied allegations made by a security officer of former speaker Lord Allan Velasco that he delivered suitcases containing cash amounting to P2 billion to her, and to her father former president Rodrigo Duterte and brother Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

“I do not know Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., nor have I ever received any money from him. My lawyers are awaiting an official copy of the Gracioso affidavit from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) so they can begin working on the cases to be filed against him,” Duterte said in a statement yesterday.

Duterte said the “desperation of the administration to bring me down, push for Charter Change, prevent the 2028 elections, and cling to power is becoming increasingly diabolical.”

Gracioso, a former policeman, said the money was delivered to the Dutertes upon instructions from Velasco.

“Once we are done dismantling the lies contained in his testimony, it will end up in the trash bin – just like the one from Ramil Madriaga,” Duterte added.

Duterte filed a perjury complaint against Madriaga, her former aide who accused her of bankrolling her vice presidential campaign in 2022 using “dark money” from drug lords and the now-banned Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGO.

Duterte in August filed a second perjury complaint against Madriaga after the latter supposedly made false statements in his supplemental affidavit last April.

During the second impeachment hearing against Duterte at the House of Representatives in April, Madriaga claimed that P125 million in Duterte’s confidential fund was disposed of in just 24 hours and not 11 days.

The Taguig prosecutor’s office dismissed the first perjury case filed by Duterte. “This is nothing more than another media stunt, an attempt to breathe life into a faltering impeachment case,” Duterte added.

The Senate impeachment court is currently deliberating on a case filed against Duterte by the House of Representatives.

Duterte said no amount of “political maneuvering, propaganda, or manufactured distractions can ultimately silence the Filipino people.”

“The people want Marcos to take a public drug test. The people want Marcos to answer for the flood control scandal. The people want change,” she said.

‘Over P2 billion’

Gracioso claimed he delivered over P2 billion in cash stashed in suitcases to the Vice President and the former president.

Gracioso, allegedly dismissed from the service for various offenses, said the money came from Velasco, for whom he worked as head of security from 2018 to 2022.

“Over P2 billion,” he said in an interview aired over GMA News 24 Oras Friday night.

A source said PNP records showed that Gracioso was dismissed from service on Sept. 15 due three counts of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

Gracioso said the first time he delivered money to Duterte, then amounting to P20 million, was in 2018 when she was still Davao City mayor. He claimed Duterte instructed him to give the suitcase to a member of her staff, a certain Jeff Tupas.

The biggest sum was P500 million, placed in suitcases loaded into three vans. When asked where the money came from, Gracioso said he was told that it was collected from various government agencies.

Gracioso said the former president received about P1 billion from 2018 until the end of his term in 2022.

Flawed argument

Meanwhile, Malacañang said the Vice President should learn to respond with evidence instead of pointing fingers at others.

“She should know the definition of red herring and ad hominem fallacies so she will know the flaws of her argument,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said.

Ad hominem is a logical fallacy committed when one attacks a rival’s character instead of his or her argument. Red Herring, meanwhile, is an attempt to divert attention away from the main issue.

“We will repeat this so she will remember. She (Duterte) needs to level up her defending skills so she can appear credible, if only for once,” Castro said.

She pointed out that the Senate has its own mandate and that conducting an impeachment trial falls squarely within its jurisdiction.

She made the statement in response to the claim of Duterte ally Vic Rodriguez that the Constitution is “dead” because of the “ignorance” and “willful violation” of 13 “traitor-senators” who “reneged” on their oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution. — Emmanuel Tupas, Alexis Romero