Jimmy Guban (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Incarcerated former Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban has linked members of the Duterte family in the alleged mass importation of illegal drugs, particularly a P6.8-billion "shabu" shipment in 2018. 

Linked by Guban to the importation of illegal drugs to the country were Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Duterte; and lawyer  Manases "Mans" Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte. Rep. Duterte and VP Duterte are siblings. 

He made this revelation during the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing held at the Bacolor Mini Convention Center in Barangay Cabangbangan, Bacolor, Pampanga. 

Guban--who was one of the surprise witnesses of expansive four-panel probe on the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), illegal drugs, and extrajudicial killings during the previous Duterte administration's drug war--entered the stadium wearing a bullet-proof vest and a helmet. 

He was flanked by at least two bodyguards from each side. 

He also implicated Chinese national Michael Yang, whom he described to House members as a "big-time importer of drugs". 

He claimed that Yang, a former economic adviser of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, also "distributes drugs in the local market". 

Guban also name-dropped journalists Benny Antiporda and Paul Gutierrez, and said that they belonged to the same group as "Pulong", "Mans", and Yang. He said they were close.

Antiporda is a former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) undersecretary. He and Gutierrez are past presidents of the National Press Club (NPC). 

The quad-committee hearing (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Don't mention these 3 names

Guban had earned notoriety for his alleged part in smuggling of P6.8 billion worth of shabu using magnetic lifters in 2018, or during former president Duterte's administration. But the ex-BOC intelligence officer said he was among the authorities who discovered the shipment. 

Amid a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation on the particular drug bust, Guban was allegedly threatened by Gutierrez, whom he quoted as saying: "Wag mong banggitin ang mga pangalang Pulong, Michael Yang, at Mans." 

(Don't mention the names Pulong, Michael Yang, and Mans.)

Guban said he was warned that he would surely die if he mentioned these names in the Senate hearing.

"Alam namin kung saan nakatira ang pamilya mo. Alam din namin na nasa Makati ang anak mong lalaki," Gutierrez further said, as per Guban. 

(We know where your family lives. We also know that your son is in Makati.) 

Guban, who had been cited for contempt by the senators, ended up tagging dismissed Philippine National Police (PNP) Colonel Eduardo Acierto on the P6.8 billion shabu shipment. He said he did it out of fear for his life and for his family. 

But Guban told congressmen Friday that he was no longer afraid to fight. "I am seeking truth and justice," he declared before taking a swig from and water battle and rubbing his chest.  

He said he recanted his testimony at the Senate around October 2023, way before the quad-comm was conceived.

Guban requested to the quad-comm that he be placed under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), as well as be detained within the premises of the House of Representatives in Batasan, Quezon City. 

The solons acknowledged his safety concerns, especially since he will have to testify in their future hearings.   

The House quad-comm is composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, on Public Order and Safety, on Human Rights, and on Public Accounts. 

ALSO READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/10/acierto-calls-duterte-go-dela-rosa-protectors-of-illegal-drugs-says-ex-president-wants-him-dead

'Pulong', Gutierrez, Antiporda react to allegations 

Rep. Duterte, Gutierrez, and Antiporda denied Guban's allegations and assailed the witness in separate statements sent to reporters early Friday night. 

"Hindi ko po kilala si Jimmy Guban at sigurado ako na hindi rin niya ako kilala (I don't know Jimmy Guban and I'm sure he doesn't know me)," Rep. Duterte said. 

He says that Guban's being previously cited for contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee wrecks his credibility. 

"Klaro po na walang kredibilidad ang taong yan at walang basehan ang kanyang mga sinasabi noon pa man, kaya di ko po alam kung bakit bigla po siyang naging star witness dito," said the former House deputy speaker. 

(It's clear that that person has no credibility, and that his statements have had no basis ever since, as such I don't know why he suddenly became a star witness here.

Gutierrez called Guban an "inveterate liar". His statements against me are all falsehoods and clearly fed to him by someone else, he said. 

"I don’t’ personally know nor have I ever met—even up to now—any of the Dutertes, Atty. Mans Carpio or Michael Yang; I also never had any personal or professional dealings with Mr. Guban while I was covering the customs beat, although the things I’ve been hearing about him at the waterfront are all unsavory," he said. 

"While I indeed visited him once right after the Senate ordered him detained, it was to check on his health condition as many at the time believed that he is just feigning ill health to avoid further questioning," Gutierrez said.

Antiporda, for his part, said Guban's allegations were "lies of great magnitude as magnified by the fact that it lacks any evidentiary support but his self-serving allegations". 

He also denied personally knowing Guban, and vice versa. 

"While I know Michael Yang, Mans Carpio and Pulong by their names, I do not personally know any of them, have not met them, much less talked to any of them personally or electronically at any occasions," he said. 

Antiporda stressed: "I would like to emphasize that I totally abhor corruption and it is a common knowledge, and it is with more reason that I am absolutely against illegal drugs."

Will they get summoned? 

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, one of the four chairmen of the quad-comm, confirmed to reporters afterward that the joint panel sought to summon in the next hearing all the names linked by Guban to alleged mass drug importation. 

However, due to the glut of resource speakers who were invited, Barbers said that the appearance of certain people is still up in the air. 

“There was a motion to invite them but sa dami ng (due the number of) guests that we’ll be invited sa (in the) next hearing we will have to trim it down, so that we can ask and propound questions na tama do’n sa mga guest na makakatulong sa investigation (that are appropriate to the guests so it may help in the investigation),” said Barbers.