Sara Duterte: Unless there's court order, no need for Paolo to show tattoo
MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor and the president's daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio on Tuesday said she won’t ask her brother, Paolo, to show his tattoo on his back, which opposition lawmakers said would prove the presidential son’s reported links to the illegal drug trade.
A six-minute video in documentary format detailing Paolo’s alleged connection to a drug ring made rounds online last week. The video also revived Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s allegation that Paolo has a dragon-like tattoo on his back — supposedly a proof of his ties to a drug trafficking triad.
Speaking to reporters, Sara — who serves as campaign manager of regional party Hugpong Pagbabago — dismissed claims that Paolo was involved in drug trafficking operations, adding that she would advise her brother against showing the tattoo unless a court orders Paolo to reveal it.
“Kung ako, 'di ko ipapakita yung tattoo ko kasi I have my right to privacy. Unless there is a case about my tattoo, kung sinasabi ng judge ipakita mo yang tattoo mo then that’s the only time na magpapakita ako,” Sara said in a media interview — a video of which was tweeted by GMA News.
(If it were me, I would not show my tattoo because I have my right to privacy. Unless there is a case about my tattoo and if the judge ordered me to show my tattoo then that’s the only time that I would show it.)
In a post on his Facebook page last week, Paolo — a former Davao City vice mayor who is running for a seat in Congress — lashed out at a certain J.S., whom he tagged as being behind the video.
Paolo had resigned as vice mayor of Davao City following allegations that he may have helped ease the entry of multi-billion peso worth of narcotics from China that were seized by Philippine authorities in 2017.
Opposition lawmakers had repeatedly challenged Paolo to show his tattoo. The younger Duterte previously admitted he had a tattoo on his back, but he declined to show and describe it, invoking his right to privacy.
Last Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte — who stoked alarm for unleashing his deadly war on drugs — accused the political opposition, including Trillanes, of conducting a smear campaign against him and his son Paolo. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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