Ex-Sara Duterte aide, Jefry Tupas, denies receiving cash on behalf of VP

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Former Davao City chief information officer Jefry Tupas on Thursday denied the claim of dismissed policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. that he received suitcases containing cash on behalf of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Tupas said he believed that Gracioso was referring to him in his affidavit as he was the only one with the nickname “Jepoy” or “Jepoi” among Duterte’s closest aides at that time, despite incorrectly being referred to as “Tupaz” instead of “Tupas.”

“Sa simula pa lamang ay nais kong sabihing malinaw na ang mga pahayag at paratang na ito ni Gracioso ay pawang kasinungalingan lamang at madaling maipakita na sinungaling siya,” he said in an affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

(From the very beginning, I want to make it clear that these statements and allegations by Gracioso are all lies, and it can easily be shown that he is a liar.)

Gracioso previously said that he delivered cash to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte on the instructions of former Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

In his affidavit, Tupas denied Gracioso’s account that he was supposedly told by Duterte to hand over the cash to “Jepoy” at Marinduque in April 2019.

However, Tupas said that he has never been to Marinduque, nor was he in the country from April 18, 2019 to April 21, 2019. He said he was in Korea.

He also denied Gracioso’s claim that on September 21, 2019, he delivered two suitcases containing P50 million to Duterte. Gracioso said that Duterte again directed him to bring the cash to Jepoy.

Tupas said that he flew to Japan on September 19, 2019 and only returned to the Philippines on the evening of September 21, 2019.

Further, he belied Gracioso’s claim of delivering three suitcases to Duterte in 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that Davao was strictly implementing the lockdown at that time.

“Ang masasabi ko lang ay puro kathang-isip at pawang kasinungalingan lamang. Kahit kailan, walang nangyari na may tinanggap akong maleta ng pera, regalo, o sasakyan para kay Sara Z. Duterte,” he said.

(All I can say is that it is all fabricated and completely untrue. At no time did it happen that I received a suitcase of money, a gift, or a vehicle for Sara Z. Duterte.)

“Kung hindi nga lang seryoso ang mga paratang niya, na halatang nagpakay ay sirain ang pangalan ni Ms. Sara Z. Duterte, ay nakakatawa ang mga kuwento niya,” he added.

(If only his allegations were not serious, as it is obvious that the purpose is to tarnish the name of Ms. Sara Z. Duterte, his stories would be laughable.)

According to Tupas, he has never been to the house of Velaco in Valle Verde or any other house. He also said that he did not know who Gracioso was.

This came after the NBI issued a subpoena for Tupas.

Tupas's legal counsel, lawyer Caesar Europa, said that though Tupas will be unable to comply with the subpoena due to its short notice, he will submit an affidavit to the bureau.

Europa also said they were surprised by the subpoena, as Tupas expected the NBI to offer to place him under protective custody due to information that he was under threat of abduction. —LDF, GMA News