Sara Duterte camp rejects new cash delivery claim

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday dismissed as “another tanim (planted) witness” the allegations of a man identified only by the alias “Chris” that he had twice delivered suitcases of money to Duterte.

In a statement, Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. denied the allegations by Chris and said the vice president herself would dispute the claims with evidence at the proper time.

“Another day, another tanim witness. They can keep manufacturing allegations, but they cannot fabricate the truth. As before, VP Sara will happily dismantle each allegation with evidence at the proper time,” Panelo said.

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READ: Sara Duterte camp: NBI probe another persecution

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On Thursday, the alleged former driver of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation and claimed he had transported suitcases of money to Duterte in Davao from 2021 to 2022 upon Velasco’s instructions.

Chris is the second person after dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. to make those allegations.

He said his first trip to Davao was on June 16, 2021, when he drove a van carrying around 15 suitcases. His second alleged delivery, also involving around 15 suitcases, also took place in Davao in 2022.

He claimed, however, not knowing how much money the suitcases contained since he did not check their contents. He also said he did not witness Duterte receiving the suitcases.

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READ: Pulse: Sara Duterte’s trust, approval ratings still higher than Marcos

Also on Friday, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro emphasized to reporters that the documents so far presented by the House prosecution against the Vice President came from her own camp.

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She made this assertion following a recent Social Weather Stations survey which showed only 25 percent of respondents were convinced the allegations of unexplained wealth were true and only 30 percent were happy with the prosecution, while 35 percent were displeased—for a net satisfaction rating of -5.

“[As I have repeatedly emphasized], numbers do not lie; the evidence in Article 2, unexplained wealth, is based on figures which were submitted by no less than the respondent vice president,” Luistro said. “[Let’s not forget that.] The pieces of evidence presented in Article II, [which] became the subject matter of the forensic study of our expert witness, Atty. Alex Cabrera, came from the respondent herself.”

In separate online interviews on Friday, Luistro and prosecution counsel Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said there is no injury yet that would be cured by the Supreme Court petitions by Sens. Robinhood Padilla and Christopher “Bong” Go questioning the lower minimum number of votes for conviction.

On Wednesday, the high court directed the House of Representatives and the Senate to comment on the petition questioning why the Senate Impeachment Court allowed less than 16 votes for Duterte’s possible conviction.

Tolosa aired the same sentiments as Luistro, saying the impeachment court’s composition when the petition was filed may be different once it is scheduled to render a decision on Duterte’s case.

Article XI, Section 3(5) of the 1987 Constitution states that an impeached official will only be convicted upon the “concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”

But according to three former chief justices who were invited as amici curiae (“friends of the court”), the vote should be based on the number of participating members of the impeachment court.

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As of Oct. 13, the last trial day so far, Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta have been detained due to plunder charges, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been deemed a fugitive from justice by authorities, and Sen. Loren Legarda has been on extended leave.