Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte Denies Cash-Delivery Allegations in Sworn Statement to NBI
Key Takeaways
- •Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Z. Duterte filed an affidavit ad cautelam with the National Bureau of Investigation denying that cash was delivered to him, while formally questioning the bureau's jurisdiction to investigate.
- •The allegations originated from Rodulfo M. Gracioso Jr., a dismissed police officer who claims he delivered suitcases of cash to the Duterte family, including an alleged P100 million for the congressman, on the instructions of former House Speaker Lord Allan Q. Velasco.
- •Counsel Peter Paul L. Danao dismissed the accusations as "fairy tale concoctions" and urged NBI investigators to independently assess both the jurisdictional challenge and the substance of the allegations.
- •Former Speaker Velasco's camp has rejected the claims as fabricated, and the Vice-President separately submitted a counter-affidavit the previous week.
- •The NBI is conducting an early-stage fact-finding investigation, and its next steps will depend on how both the authority question and the accusations themselves are resolved.
Davao City Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Z. Duterte on Monday filed a sworn statement with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), rejecting allegations that cash was delivered to him and challenging the agency's authority to investigate him.
His counsel, Peter Paul L. Danao, submitted the affidavit on the congressman's behalf through a special appearance before the bureau — a procedural step that lets counsel argue jurisdictional questions without conceding the agency's authority over his client — while raising a jurisdictional challenge to the NBI's power, under existing laws, to conduct the probe.
In a statement, Mr. Danao said the affidavit ad cautelam — a precautionary sworn statement — places the lawmaker's denial on record without waiving his legal objections.
The allegations originated from Rodulfo M. Gracioso, Jr., a dismissed police officer who claims to have served as a security aide to former House Speaker Lord Allan Q. Velasco. Mr. Gracioso earlier claimed that, on Mr. Velasco's instructions, he delivered suitcases of cash to the Duterte family, including an alleged P100 million for the congressman.
Mr. Danao dismissed the accusations as "fairy tale concoctions." Mr. Velasco's camp has denied the allegations, calling them fabricated, and the Vice-President also submitted a counter-affidavit last week.
The NBI is conducting a fact-finding investigation and had invited Mr. Duterte to appear on Monday. Such inquiries gather and evaluate evidence at an early stage, ahead of any determination on whether further proceedings are warranted.
Mr. Danao urged bureau investigators to independently assess both the jurisdictional challenge and the allegations, guided by law and evidence — two distinct questions, one about the bureau's authority and one about the accusations themselves — and the inquiry's next steps will turn on how both are resolved.
"We trust that the women and men of the NBI involved in this investigation shall uphold the Bureau's ideals of nobility, bravery and integrity in their independent evaluation and assessment of the issues we raised," he said.
— Erika Mae P. Sinaking, BusinessWorld Online
Source: BusinessWorld Online
