Former vice presidential spokesperson Barry Gutierrez believes that the decision of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs to invite former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang will uncover the truth about the past administration’s drug war.

(From left) Former vice presidential spokesman Barry Gutierrez and former president Rodrigo Duterte (OVP, Palace photos)

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the former lawmaker agreed with former senator and staunch Duterte critic Leila de Lima’s statement of support for the House panel.

“Tama si @AttyLeiladeLima: Sana nga lumabas na ang buong katotohanan tungkol sa pekeng ‘drug war’ ni Duterte (@AttyLeiladeLima is right. May the whole truth about Duterte’s fake drug war come out),” he wrote.

“At kasunod, ang paniningil sa mga naging kasabwat dito, tulad ng gagawin sa ICC (And next should be the reckoning for all of its accomplices, similar to what will be done in the ICC),” he added.

Gutierrez was referring to the International Criminal Court that is expected to render a decision on the crimes against humanity charge against the former president and other co-accused, including Senator Bato Dela Rosa.

In a separate post, De Lima expressed her support for the panel’s invitation of Yang, believed to be a close friend of Duterte and who is now allegedly linked to the 2023 seizure of some P3 billion worth of illegal drugs in Mexico, Pampanga.

“The link between this Chinese syndicate, drug trading, and the Davao Mafia should also be uncovered in the House investigation,” the former senator, who was detained for almost seven years on what she claimed to be trumped-up drug charges by the Duterte administration, said.

“This is all pointing to what we have suspected all along, that Duterte's drug war was a mere cover for the Davao Mafia's monopoly over the illegal drug trade in the country as conducted by his former economic adviser,” she added.

De Lima also pointed out that Yang was also involved in the multi-billion Pharmally Pharmaceutical scandal that rocked the country at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The same names that brought us the Pharmally scandal are resurfacing again in the seizure of 3 billion pesos of drugs from a warehouse in Pampanga registered to a corporation identified with Yang,” she stressed.

Yang’s name cropped up during the House hearing after Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers found that his interpreter, Lincoln Ong, is an incorporator in a company with alleged links to other companies, including Empire 999 who owns the Pampanga warehouse that stored the illegal drugs.