Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILABULLETIN)
Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers says it would be up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to decode whether or not it would accept ex-Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban as a State witness.
This, after the Guban implicated Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Duterte; lawyer Manases "Mans" Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, and Chinese national Michael Yang to the mass importation of illegal drugs to the country.
"Ang nire-request yata niya is maging State witness, meaning, he will avail himself of the WPP, ‘yong Witness Protection Program. And, if he is eligible, of course, DOJ na ang magde-decide, no. ‘Pag eligible siya, he will be given that opportunity," said Barbers.
(What he is requesting is for him to become a State witness, meaning, he will avail himself of the WPP, the Witness Protection Program. And, if he is eligible, of course, it's the DOJ that will decide on that. If he's eligible, he will be given that opportunity,.)
Barbers is one of the four chairmen whose committees comprise the quad-committee, or quad-comm. Guban, an inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), was a surprise witness during the quad-comm's hearing Friday, Aug. 16 in Bacolor, Pampanga.
After making his shocking revelations, Guban also asked the quad-comm that he be transferred to the House of Representatives' detention center.
Barbers said the House and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) are sorting out the legal impediments to such transfer.
"The Bucor is the only agency that has full control and management sa lahat ng PDLs (of all persons with disabilities)," noted the veteran congressman.
'Sino ang nagpapalusot?'
Aside from linking members of the Duterte family to drug importation, Guban also claimed that multiple container vans holding illegal drugs have entered the country and have gone missing.
The gravity of the accusation isn't lost on Barbers, who is the longtime chairman of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs.
‘Yong testimony ni Mr. Guban kung saan pinapayagang makalusot konte-container ng mga droga, aba mabigat ‘yon," he said.
(Mr. Guban's testimony that multiple container vans holding drugs are being allowed entry to the country, that's a big one.)
"Well there’s a revelation na may drugs that were in the magnetic lifter that was a subject of the investigation, sa investigation sa Senate at House noong 2018, eh meron palang nagpapalusot. ‘Yong significance noon ay ‘yong mga taong sa likod na nagpapalusot," he added.
(Well there’s a revelation that drugs were present in the magnetic lifter that was a subject of the investigation, the investigation of the Senate and House in 2018, so someone was allowing their entry. The persons who are allowing it is the significant part.)
Guban directly linked Rep. Duterte, Carpio, Yang and several others to the magnetic lifters that reportedly contained P6.8 billion worth of "shabu".
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'No politics here'
With Guban expected to be the focus of the quad-comm hearings moving forward, Barbers assured the public that the proceedings won't turn into a political rigmarole.
"Ang ating objective sa quad-comm ay ilabas ‘yong katotohanan, eh. Di ba? Ito ay, apparently, as he stated earlier, eh katotohanan sa totoong nangyari doon sa pagpapalabas ng mga magnetic lifters na noon pang [2018] nangyari," he said.
(Our objective in the quad-comm is to let out the truth, right? This is apparently, as he stated earlier, the truth to what happened with the release of the magnetic lifters back in 2018.)
"Wala pong politika rito. Na kung nagkataon may ganyan, pagka hindi ho na-substantiate ‘yong ganyang anggulo ng politika, hindi po namin papansinin yan. Binigyan lamang po namin ang pagkakataon na magpaliwanag siya, matanong siya ng mga kasamahan sa Kongreso, kung ano ba talaga yung sinasabi niya," Barbers said of Guban.
(There are no politics here. Should there be angles toward politics, we will ignore it if doesn't get substantiated. We merely gave him an opportunity to explain himself, and to be asked questions by our House colleagues regarding his statements.)
The Mindanaoan said that more surprise witnesses might turn up at the quad-comm hearings.