FORMER Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban on Friday implicated Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, her brother and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, and former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang to the smuggling of PHP11 billion worth of shabu at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in 2018.
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, who is serving time detained at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, was brought to Pampanga to appear as a resource person before the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, chaired by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers; Public Order and Safety, chaired by City of Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez; Human Rights panel, chaired by Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr.; and Public Accounts, chaired by Abang Lingkod Party-List Rep. Joseph Paduano.
In his affidavit, Guban said Davao City Councilor Nilo Abellera Jr. introduced him to the smuggling operation early 2017.
Abellera described himself as the “business partner and trusted man” of congressman Duterte, Carpio and Yang, a Chinese businessman and known associate of the Duterte family.
During the hearing, Guban also described Yang as “a big-time importer of drugs.”
Yang is currently the subject of an arrest and detention order issued by the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs after being cited in contempt for repeatedly refusing to attend committee hearings related to his alleged involvement in a PHP3.6-billion drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga last year.
“Small (Abellera) told me that he is the business partner and trusted man of Michael Yang, Pulong Duterte, the son of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, and Atty. Mans Carpio, the husband of then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte,” Guban said in his affidavit.
He also said Abellera is their business partner and trusted man, tasked to facilitate the release of shipments from the Bureau of Customs.
Guban disclosed that Abellera repeatedly requested him to ease restrictions on certain shipments.
He quoted Abellera as saying, “Luwagan mo ‘yang mga shipments na ‘yan. Alam mo naman na kina Michael Yang, Pulong at Mans ‘yan (Take easy on those shipments. You already knew that those belong to Michael Yang, Pulong and Mans).”
He also revealed his collaboration with former police officer Col. Eduardo Acierto, who provided additional intelligence on the smuggling operations.
Guban said Acierto’s investigations identified a suspicious shipment from Vecaba Trading International, the consignee of the seized shabu.
Vecaba Trading, Guban said, is owned by Vedasto Cabral Baraquel Jr. and his live-in partner, Maria Lagrimas Catipan, who serve as business dummies for businessman and importer Poney Chen and his former wife, Emily Luquingan, both residents of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.
Guban said he reported his findings to a certain General Quinto, who sought approval from then Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña to place the shipment on hold.
“When it became certain that the shipment of Vecaba Trading was located in the MICP, I reported to Gen. Quinto this fact so that he could request Commissioner Lapeña for the issuance of a hold-and-alert order. That request was approved by the then Commissioner Lapeña,” Guban stated.
Guban’s affidavit also detailed a threat he received during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, where he was cited for contempt due to inconsistencies in his testimony.
He claimed that a media personality named Paul Gutierrez, accompanied by a Senate committee staff member, visited him and warned him against mentioning the names of Rep. Duterte, Carpio and Yang in his testimony.
Gutierrez, a former president of the National Press Club and now head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, denied the accusations.
“What is Guban’s motive for linking me to the issue? Why don’t we uncover those who prepared his falsehood of a testimony to find the answer as I also have no idea” he said in a statement.
He said his conscience is clear, and not bothered at all “by all the lies Guban has been making nowadays.”
“Time and again, Guban has been proven to be an inveterate liar. Our lawmakers should therefore be forewarned in believing anything he says. Truth must always fit with the evidence,” Gutierez said.
In another instance, Guban recounted a phone call from Bureau of Customs official Lourdes Mangaoang, who inquired about the Vecaba Trading shipment.
According to Guban, Mangaoang said: “Anong magagawa dyan sa shipment na ‘yan, kina pareng Benny Antiporda ‘yan (What could be done to those shipments, that’s for Benny Antiporda),” referring to then-Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary and former reporter Benny Antiporda.
The shipment from Vecaba Trading was eventually intercepted and two magnetic lifters containing shabu were discovered.
The operation was conducted in the presence of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials and other government officials, including MICP district collector Vener Baquiran.
Guban admitted that during the hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, he refrained from naming Rep. Duterte, Carpio, and Yang due to threats against his family.
The affidavit also noted that Guban was convicted for his role in the smuggling operation and is currently appealing his conviction before the Court of Appeals.
Toward the end of the hearing, the quad committee ordered that invitations be sent to all individuals mentioned by Guban in his affidavit and testimony. (PNA)
