Pagbubunyag ni Lascañas sa VERA Files: “Paolo Duterte smuggler ng iligal na droga”

KUNG ang kanilang ama, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, ay sangkot sa illegal drug trade, tulad ng sinasabi ni Arturo Lascañas sa Part 1 ng interview series ng Vera Files, ang anak naman na si Paolo “Polong” Duterte, kasalukuyang kinatawan sa Kongreso ng 1st district ng Davao City, ay pasok sa smuggling ng iligal na droga, mula sa VERA Files.

Na-interview ng VERA Files si Lascañas, ang umaming dating miyembro ng Davao Death Squad, noong Nov. 17 at 18, 2023 sa pinagtataguan nito sa labas ng Pilipinas.

Sa bahaging ito ng panayam, ibinunyag ni Lascañas ang pagkakasangkot ni Polong, sa illegal drugs trade.

Sinabi ng VERA Files nagpadala sila ng sulat Enero 16 sa opis ng batang Duterte sa Batasan Pambansa para sa kanyang side sa istorya, tinawagan pa ito at pinadalhan ng text messages pero hindi sumagot hanggang Enero 19 ng umaga.

Sinabi ni Lascañas na si Polong ay “very close” kay Michael Yang at Charlie Tan, ang Chinese operators ng shabu laboratories sa Davao City, tulad ng nabanggit sa Part 1 ng seryeng ito.

“Polong was the mastermind in the smuggling of shabu in the Port of Davao, and I was one of his conduits or front men,” sabi ni Lascañas.

P50K kay Bato Dela Rosa kada linggo
SINABI ni Lascañas, siya ay inatasan na magdala ng pera “to the Bureau of Customs, well, of course, to Polong, and to Bato Dela Rosa every week.”

“Every week I delivered to Bato Dela Rosa P50,000… every week, when he was the city police director of Davao City, when he started the Operation Tokhang.”

Ang ngayo’y Senador Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa ay naging Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief mula July 1, 2016 hanggang April 19, 2018 sa ilalim ng panguluhan ni Rodrigo Duterte.

Nang tanungin ang Senador sa sinabi ni Lascañas, sinabi ni Dela Rosa: “Naniwala naman kayo? Ang dali lang gumawa ng kwento. He is lying.”

Tinanong ng VERA Files si Lascañas kung ano ang partisipasyon ni Polong sa death squad killings.

“I was even summoned by Paolo Duterte three times to kill people,” sabi ni Lascañas.

Mayroon aniyang pinatay noong 2013 sa Deca Homes, kungsaan tatlo ang pinatay kabilang ang isang babae. Si Polong, aniya, ang nag-utos matapos makipag-argumento ng target na kinompronta siya sa pagiging arogante na anak ng city mayor.

Sinabi ni Lascañas: “I know it personally. He instructed me to kill these people, with Edgar Matobato. It was in Deca Homes near the house of Police Captain Ronald Lao, a part of the assassination team summoned by Paolo Duterte at that time.”

Tinanong ng VERA Files kung bakit tatlo ang pinatay gayung isa lang ang nakagalitan ni Paolo. Ang dalawa pa, isang babae at isang matandang lalaki, ay “collateral damage”, sagot ni Lascañas.

“There were many more collateral damages, buried at the Laud Quarry and at the Mandug mass grave.”

Sinabi ni Lascañas na mayroong tatlong mass graves. Ang ikatlo ay nasa Maa, maliban sa isang nasa Davao Gulf.

Mayroon mga tsismis na kumakalat sa Davao City na si Polong ay kontrolado ang smuggling sa Davao ports. Tinanong ng VERA Files si Lascañas kung siya’y nasa posisyon para kumpirmahin ito. Inilahad niya ang drug connections ni Paolo sa kanyang affidavit.

“I was being used by Paolo Duterte as front in the smuggling of rice and the illegal drugs of Charlie Tan. That’s it. Our cashier in our group is named Mark Suico. He is a multibillionaire young man, cashier of Paolo Duterte.”

Sinabi ni Lascañas kadalasan ng smuggled nila ay bigas, shabu, at minsan asukal. Ang pagkakaalam ng marami ang negosyo ni Paolo ay ukay-ukay. “Mayor [Rodrigo] Duterte knows this because I told him about these activities of Paolo.”

Sinabi ni Lascañas, ang relasyon niya kay Rodrigo Duterte ay “more than brothers.” Sinasabi niya rito ang lahat ng illegal activities ng kanyang anak.

“Sometimes I can’t read [Rodrigo Duterte’s] reactions. Sometimes he would be angry. But when he lies, it is very easy to catch him because he was so relaxed, and then he would concoct another story to cover the truth; he wanted his mouth to be the source of the investigation. That’s why this is what happened with all the killings in Davao City. No policeman can investigate truthfully without the dictation of Mayor Duterte. No policeman can do it. He will give a bribe money to the police but disguise it as reward money,” paglalahad ni Lascañas.

At nagbigay siya ng isang confirmation. “Polong Duterte had a drug triad tattoo. I saw it personally. I saw his very big tattoo, [a] dragon like his father[‘s].”

“At that time, Polong entered the Freemasonry. When you enter the Freemasonry you are required to take your clothes off. So when I tasked Polong to take off his clothes, he refused. He said there was a triad tattoo on his back. I said, ‘I can take care of it, do not worry. I am the Worshipful Master of this lodge, Davao Lodge 149 of [the] Freemasonry.’ So Polong and I are brothers in Freemasonry, brothers in smuggling.” – Mula sa VERA Files