Paolo Duterte should attend hearings, Trillanes urges

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s advice to his son to attend the Senate probe into the entry of illegal drugs in the country.

“Definitely, I would encourage him (Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte) to attend without any conditions. In fact, they don’t need an invitation from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,” Trillanes said on ANC’s Headstart.

“Their names were mentioned publicly. I believe there is a clamor for them to clear their names. Just volunteer,” he added.

The senator, however, slammed the president for advising Paolo to invoke his right to remain silent once he is questioned.

“Here comes his son and his son-in-law who are being alleged to be behind the Davao group that facilitated the entry of this P6.4-billion illegal drugs and yet he’s invoking the Bill of Rights. So that’s the height of injustice and hypocrisy in his war on drugs,” he said.

Trillanes said Sen. Richard Gordon, whom he had a verbal tussle with last week, allowed the motion to summon Duterte and Carpio but did not approve it.

“So I made the motion and [he] said ‘you may do so.’ But the proper granting of the motion should have been: ‘there’s a motion made by Sen. Trillanes to invite both Vice Mayor Duterte and Atty. Carpio for the next hearing or the informal way to say immediately that he would direct the committee secretary to invite the two for the next hearing. But he did not do those things," he said.

Paolo and his brother-in-law Manases Carpio were dragged in the drug shipment controversy after Bureau of Customs brokers Mark Taguba told a Senate hearing last month that a group with alleged ties to Paolo had asked him to pay P5 million so that his shipments could enter without inspection.

“My advice to Pulong (Paolo): go there. Then once he (Trillanes) questions you, tell him ‘I will not answer you. I’m invoking my right of silence,’” the president said over the weekend.

READ: Taguba clears VM Duterte, Sara’s husband from Customs mess

On Friday, the Customs broker cleared Paolo and Carpio’s involvement in the shipment of illegal drugs in the country and tara (grease money) system at BOC.

“I had never testified, nor will I ever testify that Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and/or Atty. Manse Carpio were involved in the shipment of illegal drugs into the country,” Taguba said in a statement through his legal counsel Raymond Fortun.

“I am making this statement to clear Vice Mayor Duterte and Atty. Manse Carpio from any involvement in the shipment of illegal drugs into the country and any anomalies in the BOC. I also apologize to vice Mayor Duterte, Atty. Carpio and to the First Family for the proliferation of fake news arising from my testimony at the Senate” Taguba added.

READ: Palace: No more reason for Rody kin to attend probe

Malacañang, however, said the presidential son and son-in-law should no longer be called to attend a Senate probe.

“With Mark Ruben Taguba II’s statement clearing Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and Atty. Manases Carpio from involvement in the BOC smuggling case, there may be no reason for the Senate investigative panel to call the two individuals to attend any hearing in Metro Manila, although they have indicated willingness to testify,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.