Businessman Mark Taguba on Wednesday night reaffirmed his seven-year-old testimony implicating Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband Manases Carpio, and other members of the so-called “Davao Group” in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu in 2017.
Appearing before the House Quad Committee, Taguba—currently detained for his role in processing the shipment—said he was standing by his 2017 statement despite continued harassment and death threats.
“I did not recant in my affidavit on Pulong Duterte and the others,” Taguba said during questioning by Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro.
He admitted apologizing to the then-presidential son in a press conference amid intense pressure but said it was not a retraction.
Taguba accused the Davao Group of manipulating Customs operations through key intermediaries, including Davao City Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera.
He claimed he paid Abellera a P5-million “enrollment fee” to avail of the group’s services and gain access to Pulong.
Abellera, who was present during the hearing, admitted meeting Taguba in Davao City but denied receiving money from him, stating that his requests had been rejected.
Taguba also implicated Carpio and alleged that money was funneled through Davao Group operatives like “Tita Nani.”
“They said Pulong Duterte will fix things once I give the money,” Taguba recalled, describing his interactions with the operatives.
He also detailed the harassment he endured after naming Pulong and Carpio during a congressional hearing, including threats against his life and his family.
“Even my mother, they planned to have her killed,” he said.
The shabu shipment, which originated in China, was intercepted in a warehouse in Valenzuela City in 2017, but questions remained about the true ownership of the contraband.
As this developed, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV told the Quad Comm he intends to “put away for life” former President Rodrigo Duterte through the International Criminal Court.
Trillanes made his return as a resource person of mega-panel during its 12th hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
During his hour-long presentation, he detailed Duterte’s alleged deeply-rooted links to illegal drugs.
“I’m determined to pin him down through the ICC. And that’s all I need. It’s enough to put him away for life,” he said.
“What I presented is to shatter that false narrative that he peddled to the Filipino people that he really hates illegal drugs,” Trillanes added.
The ICC has been looking into alleged crimes against humanity committed under Duterte, particularly in his bloody war on drugs that left anywhere between 6,000 to 30,000 people dead.
Most the fatalities were believed to be cases of extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
The Department of Justice, for its part, on Thursday assured the initiative to investigate EJKs during Duterte’s term will be transparent and untainted by political machinations.
Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres also acknowledged the possibility of Duterte appearing before the DOJ task force probing cases of EJKs during his administration.
“It is not because we want to call him, but it is our obligation to give him the opportunity to be heard within the context of an investigation with due process, assisted by his counsel, so that it will be in conformity with the requirements of the rule of law,” Andres said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla created the task force through Department Order (DO) 778 on Nov. 4.
The Task Force will be under the Office of the Secretary of Justice Prosecution Staff (OSJPS) chaired by a Senior Assistant State Prosecutor and co-chaired by a Regional Prosecutor, with nine members from the National Prosecution Service (NPS).
It is mandated to investigate, conduct case build-up and file necessary charges, if warranted, against the perpetrators as well as those involved in the EJKs during the previous administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“Spare no one, hold accountable every personality who had a hand in the senseless killing perpetrated by abusive persons in authority during the past admin’s anti-illegal drug campaign,” Remulla ordered following the issuance of DO 778.
Earlier, the DOJ said the alleged offenses may fall under Republic Act No. 9851 or the 2009 law on Crimes against Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes of Humanity.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Mark Taguba reaffirms testimony linking ‘Davao Group’ to P6.4B shabu smuggling”
