FORMER Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed complaints on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, against Davao Representative Paolo Duterte, lawyer Mans Carpio, former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, and seven others over their alleged involvement in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) recovered in Valenzuela City in 2017.
Trillanes filed complaints against ten individuals, including Carpio and Duterte, the husband and brother, respectively, of Vice President Sara Duterte; Faeldon; former Presidential Adviser on Indigenous Peoples’ Concerns Allen Capuyan; Davao City Councilor Small Abellera; businessman Charlie Tan; and four others for their alleged violation of Section 4 concerning Section 26(a) of Republic Act No. 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, as amended by Republic Act No. 10640.
They were also charged for the alleged violation of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Trillanes said the filing of the complaints stemmed from the Senate investigation on the seizure of 602.2 kilograms of shabu worth P6.4 billion, which was able to slip through customs examination and ended up in a warehouse in Valenzuela in May 2017.
He said Congressman Duterte, Tan, and Carpio were the “masterminds” in the smuggling of the said illegal drugs.
Trillanes said the conspiracy to import illegal drugs from China to the country necessitated the crucial interventions of the "powerful insiders," including a “corrupt customs leadership, and more importantly, the very powerful protectors who used their influence to consummate this unlawful crime of importation of billions of pesos worth of dangerous drugs into the country.”
“Ganito ‘yung naging sistema, ang pinaka drug lord dito ay si Charlie Tan na ka-partner ito ni Michael Yang. Magkapareho sila ng triad, tapos ang naging protektor ay sila Pulong Duterte at Mans Carpio,” Trillanes said in an interview with reporters.
(This is how the system worked: the biggest drug lord here is Charlie Tan, who is a partner of Michael Yang. They are both part of the triad, and their protectors were Pulong Duterte and Mans Carpio.)
“Tapos ang mga naging facilitators naman nito na naipasok ito at naipuslit palabas ng Customs ay sila Faeldon at iba na namention doon sa case,” he added.
(And the facilitators who helped get it through and smuggle it out of Customs were Faeldon and others mentioned in the case.)
Yang, business adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was not included among the respondents.
Trillanes said this indicates that the war on drugs of the Duterte administration was fake, noting that thousands of drug addicts were killed on the streets in order for the Dutertes to eliminate competition in the illegal drug trade.
'Sundalong kanin'
In a statement, Congressman Duterte, the eldest among the former President’s children, welcomed the complaint, which he said will allow him to address such allegations through proper channels.
"Mas maganda ito dahil sa Korte ng Pilipinas ang pagdinig at hindi sa korte ng Facebook at utak ng isang trililing na sundalong kanin," Duterte said.
(This is better because the hearing will be in a Philippine court, not in a Facebook court or the mind of a delusional "useless soldier.")
"This move will allow us to address these accusations through the proper legal channels, ensuring that the truth will prevail. 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," he added.
Congressman Duterte also said that this is a similar case that Trillanes has made a “fool” out of himself when he presented his alleged evidence against him as a mercenary.
“I am not surprised that Mr. Trillanes has once again fooled to fund this desperate attempt to peddle this baseless story to the Filipino people. I also look forward to the resolution of the libel cases I filed against him,” he added. (TPM/VoxPop Philippines)