A dose of their own medicine

By Artchil B. Fernandez

The tables have turned. The Dutertes are now facing the kind of scrutiny they once imposed on their adversaries. In less than three years, they are experiencing the consequences of their actions during the rule of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

During Duterte’s administration, the full power of the state was used to suppress, harass, and persecute perceived enemies, most notably former Senator Leila de Lima. As chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), De Lima investigated the link between then-Mayor Duterte and the Davao Death Squad (DDS). Later, as a senator, she initiated an inquiry into the bloody war on drugs. This earned her the ire of Duterte, who vowed to crush her.

True to his word, Duterte weaponized the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to satisfy his personal vendetta. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed dubious drug charges against De Lima, alleging her involvement in the illegal drug trade. Courts imprisoned her based on questionable technicalities, and Congress launched a smear campaign to damage her reputation.

Congressional allies of Duterte even exploited fake sex videos to tarnish De Lima’s image. During House committee hearings, they sought to depict her as morally corrupt.

Today, the House of Representatives is employing similar tactics against the Dutertes. A newly formed super committee, known as the Quad Committee, is investigating the connection between illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) hubs, the drug trade, and alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to Duterte’s war on drugs. The Quad Committee comprises the House Committees on Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, Dangerous Drugs, and Public Accounts.

This week, a bombshell revelation came during a Quad Committee hearing, courtesy of former Bureau of Customs (BOC) official Jimmy Guban. Guban claimed that the real owners of a drug shipment in August 2018—1.6 tons of shabu (crystal meth) hidden in steel magnetic lifters worth P11 billion—are Davao City Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, Duterte’s son, Mans Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, and Michael Yang, a former economic adviser to Duterte. Guban recanted his earlier testimony, in which he pointed to former police colonel Eduardo Acierto as the consignee of the drugs, explaining that he was pressured to do so.

“For fear that my son and other members of my family will be killed, including myself, I testified during the [Senate] hearing on Oct. 30, 2018, and instead of pointing or naming Pulong Duterte, Mans Carpio, and Michael Yang as the owners of the shipment based on the intelligence reports I gathered, I pointed to Acierto as the one who had knowledge that the shipment [had] illegal drugs,” Guban stated.

He further alleged that Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, warned him against mentioning the names of Pulong Duterte, Michael Yang, and Mans Carpio, threatening his family’s safety. Guban claimed he is now telling the truth because he is no longer afraid, stating, “There’s no more knife to my chest.”

Pulong Duterte vehemently denied Guban’s accusations. “As my conscience is clear, I am not bothered at all by all the lies Guban has been making nowadays. Time and again, Guban has been proven to be an inveterate liar. Our lawmakers should therefore be forewarned in believing anything he says. Truth must always fit with the evidence,” Duterte asserted.

Senator Bato de la Rosa, a staunch ally of the Dutertes, criticized former Duterte supporters in the House who have now turned against them as opportunistic. “It’s sad to think about it. It’s sad to think that it was that quick. Before, they were singing hallelujah to us—thank you for the drug war. Now, you are the villain,” de la Rosa lamented.

For the Dutertes and their allies, it must be a bitter pill to swallow, as the same House probes they once used to target opponents are now being directed at them. How does it feel to have a taste of their own medicine?

Since the official split between the Dutertes and the Marcoses, both sides have engaged in an acrimonious and dirty war to discredit each other. However, the Marcoses, holding the levers of power, have the upper hand. They have decades of experience in using state power to intimidate and destroy political enemies, a tactic perfected during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

In fact, Rodrigo Duterte admired the elder Marcos’s use of state power to crush political rivals. However, Duterte, a “second-rate, trying-hard copycat,” is no match for the original, as the Dutertes are now discovering to their dismay.

While the Marcoses’ actions against the Dutertes may seem like karma or poetic justice, they are rooted in bitter political rivalry rather than a quest for truth and justice. If the UniTeam alliance had remained intact, there would likely be no investigation into the true owners of the 1.6 tons of shabu smuggled in 2018. This is merely an unintended consequence of the UniTeam’s collapse.

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