Ex-Sara Duterte aide Jefry Tupas accuses NBI of harassment over recommendation of charges

Former Davao City chief information officer Jefry Tupas on Wednesday accused the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of harassment.

This was after the bureau recommended the filing of charges against Tupas before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“I denounce the NBI’s recommendation to file charges against me before the Department of Justice (DOJ). This is harassment, plain and simple,” he said.

“The NBI can file all the trumped-up charges they want against me, but I will never allow myself to be used as a witness for a case built on lies,” he added.

GMA News Online has reached out to the NBI for comment, but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

The NBI earlier filed a referral with the DOJ against Tupas for cyberlibel, obstruction of justice, and publication of false news.

This stemmed from the sworn statement submitted by dismissed policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.

Gracioso claimed that he delivered cash to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao Representative Paolo Duterte on the instructions of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

He also claimed that Tupas received the cash on behalf of the Vice President.

Tupas has denied Gracioso’s claims and submitted his affidavit with the bureau.

Sara Duterte, Paolo Duterte, and Velasco have submitted affidavits denying the allegations against them.

'Deceptive maneuvers'

Tupas, meanwhile, alleged that NBI agents offered him cash and a place to stay in the upscale Forbes Park in Makati City.

In his new statement, Tupas questioned the NBI investigation saying he had presented evidence to disprove allegations made by Gracioso including airline ticket bookings, passport photos bearing stamps, and Facebook posts.

Tupas disputed NBI chief Melvin Matibag's statement that he was the source of information about threats to his security. According to Tupas, NBI agents, led by Special Assistant for Mindanao Concerns Voltaire Rovira, were the ones who went to his home in North Cotabato on the morning of September 29.

He noted that he did not ask the NBI to issue a subpoena.

According to him, he requested a formal invitation from Matibag during a telephone conversation regarding the NBI's offer to place him under protective custody.

“Imbes na invitation letter, ang ibinigay ng NBI noong hapon ng September 29, 2026 ay isang subpoena na may petsang September 28, 2026—isang araw bago pa man sila dumating sa aming bahay,” he said.

(Instead of an invitation letter, what the NBI gave on the afternoon of September 29, 2026 was a subpoena dated September 28, 2026—a day before they even arrived at our house.)

He questioned the agency's motives.

“Now that he has publicly identified me as a witness, the apprehension over Matibag’s invitation for a meeting in Manila and the offer for a protective custody becomes completely justified,” Tupas said.

“It is now glaringly obvious that these were not genuine gestures for my safety, but rather deceptive maneuvers to trap me and force me into becoming a false witness,” he added.

Tupas alleged that he was being harassed and pressured to testify against the Vice President in a plunder case linked to Gracioso's allegations.

“It is clear to me, and probably to everyone else who can read between the lines, that I am being harassed, intimidated, and pressured to turn against Vice President Sara Duterte and testify against her in a plunder case related to the Gracioso allegations (as shown in the September 28, 2026 subpoena delivered to my house),” he said. —VAL, GMA News