MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday filed drug and graft complaints against Rep. Paolo Duterte (Davao City, 1st District) and nine others over the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment seized in Valenzuela City in 2017.
In a 47-page complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ), the charges were filed against Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Mans Carpio, former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon and others who allegedly conspired for the entry of the shabu shipment.
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The cases filed against the respondents are a violation of Section 4 concerning Section 26 (a) of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as amended by Republic Act 10640 and Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The complaint also includes former Presidential Adviser on Indigenous Peoples’ Concerns Allen Capuyan, Davao City Councilor Small Abellera, Charlie Tan and four others.
“Ang pinaka-drug lord dito ay si Charlie Tan na kapartner ito ni Michael Yang...Tapos ang naging protektor ay sila Pulong at Mans Carpio. Ang naging facilitators naman nito na naipasok ito at naipuslit palabas ng customs ay sina Faeldon, sina Allen Kapuyan at iba pa na namention doon sa case,” Trillanes said in an ambush interview with reporters.
(The main drug lord here is Charlie Tan, who is a partner of Michael Yang... Then the protectors were Pulong and Mans Carpio. The facilitators who helped smuggle it in and out of customs were Faeldon, Allen Capuyan, and others mentioned in the case.)
The case originated from a May 2017 incident in when a 602.2-kilogram crystal meth, valued at P6.4 billion, were released by the Bureau of Customs in the Manila International Container Port.
Months after the incident, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee held a series of public hearings, which exposed that the contraband was granted a "green lane" passage to bypass the Bureau of Customs’ alert system and was not subjected physical inspection and document verification.
“Dito mo makikita na fake ang War on Drugs ni Duterte. Libu-libo ang mga pinatay na hinihinalang drug addicts pero sila mismo pala ang protektor at kapartner ng mga big time drug lords. Pinatay lang nila ang kumpetisyon sa illegal drug trade,” Trillanes said in a separate statement.
(Here you can see that Duterte's War on Drugs is fake. Thousands of suspected drug addicts were killed, yet they themselves are the protectors and partners of big-time drug lords. They just eliminated the competition in the illegal drug trade.)
In 2018, similar charges were filed against Duterte and Carpio before the office of the Ombudsman. However, it was dismissed for “lack of basis.”
On July 5, Trillanes also filed plunder and graft charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Bong Go and some of Go’s family members over the alleged anomalous infrastructure contracts in Davao City from 2007 to 2018.
In response to the cases filed by the former senator, Paolo said that Trillanes' allegations are “baseless.”
“I have always maintained my innocence, and I am confident that the judicial process will clear my name. It is important to rely on our legal institutions rather than resorting to trial by publicity or baseless allegations,” the former president’s son said in a statement.
Faeldon and the Office of the Vice President have yet to respond to Philstar.com's request for comment on the complaints. This article will be updated upon their response.