DAVAO CITY – Vice President Sara Z. Duterte said Saturday that only her husband, Manases Carpio, could answer the allegations against him.
“We talked about it and whatever issue pressed on him, 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, when asked to comment after former Bureau of Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban implicated her husband, her brother and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, and former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang in the smuggling of PHP11 billion worth of shabu at the Manila International Container Port in 2018.
Similarly, Duterte said she cannot speak for her brother.
“I understand he also released a statement to answer the issue,” the Vice President said.
Rep. Duterte denied in a separate statement knowing Guban and stressed he did not have transactions with him.
"I don't know him [Guban] and I'm sure he doesn't know me either,” he said.
On Friday, Guban made his revelation through an affidavit he read during the House quad committee investigation into the links of Philippine online gaming operators in the illegal drug trade and the extrajudicial killings tied to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Guban said Davao City Councilor Nilo Abellera Jr. introduced him to the smuggling operation in early 2017.
Abellera described himself as the “business partner and trusted man” of Rep. Duterte, Carpio and Yang, a Chinese businessman and known associate of the Duterte family.
"It's clear that that person has no credibility and what he's been saying all along has no basis. I would like to remind people that the word ‘star witness’ only exemplifies those who speak the truth and have credibility," Rep. Duterte said. (PNA)
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