EDITORIAL— Come back, Lord Allan

Faced with serious accusations of wrongdoing, former House speaker Lord Allan Velasco has maintained his innocence.

This would be easier once he returns to the country along with his wife Rowena, who was also mentioned in the affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation by his former security officer, dismissed policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.

Gracioso, in his sworn statement, alleged that from 2018 to 2021, he made several deliveries of cash with amounts ranging from P10 million to P200 million to Sara Duterte when she was mayor of Davao City and her father Rodrigo the president.

The money, Gracioso claimed, came from Velasco, with Rowena also gifting Sara Duterte with ultra-expensive Hermes bags and luxury wristwatch Patek Philippe.

Gracioso’s detailed statement also implicated in the alleged elaborate corruption scheme the Vice President’s brother Paolo, former Ako Bicol congressman Zaldy Co, Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, former budget chief Wendel Avisado, former public works undersecretaries Roberto Bernardo and Catalina Cabral as well as district engineer Henry Alcantara, contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, and Velasco’s former House chief of staff Honey Sipin.

Authorities said Velasco left for Japan last Aug. 30, days after the NBI raided several houses in Valle Verde on Aug. 24 in search of illegal high-powered firearms, but before Gracioso’s affidavit became public. NBI Director Melvin Matibag said they did not know that the houses actually belonged to Velasco because other names were listed as the owners.

Matibag said firearms, bullets, gun magazines and ID cards belonging to police and security personnel were seized during the raid, which he said was covered by a court-issued search warrant. He said Velasco’s wife took a Hong Kong-bound flight on Sept. 24.

Gracioso claimed the money accumulated by Velasco became so voluminous the former speaker had to buy several houses in Valle Verde to store the bills. It is unclear if what Gracioso described as “cash houses” were the ones raided by the NBI.

What’s clear is that the Velascos are out of the country and, according to the NBI, did not return on the dates indicated in their departure documents.

Despite the seizure of the firearms, no charges have been filed so far against Velasco and his wife, and there was no court order stopping them from leaving the country. A person claiming innocence, however, cannot bolster his case by following in the footsteps of Zaldy Co who is hiding overseas.

Flight, it is often said, is a sign of guilt. Velasco can best clear his name by returning to the country and facing squarely the accusations against him.