MANILA, Philippines – Iniimbestigahan na ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ang mga ari-arian na iniuugnay kay Vice President Sara Duterte at pamilya nito kasunod ng alegasyon ng paghahatid ng bag ng cash ng dating pulis.
“We’re investigating this because we are following the pattern established in the Gracioso affidavit. This means there is money involved, so where did the money go? It now appears that the money is being invested in land banking,” ayon kay NBI director Melvin Matibag.
Dahil dito ay pumalag si Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte at hinamon ang ahensya na magpresenta ng ebidensya para sa mga pahayag nito.
Ani Matibag, sa affidavit ng dating pulis na si Gracioso, itinuturo ang pattern ng “land banking” sa mga ari-arian na iniuugnay sa pamilya Velasco, na sinusuri naman ngayon ng NBI ang kaugnayan nito sa mga Duterte.
“They engage in land banking. They buy land, build resorts, establish real estate companies and hotels, and develop luxury villages. This is the pattern we observed with the Velascos,” aniya.
“And we are now looking into the same pattern based on the SALNs submitted by Vice President Sara Duterte doon sa real properties nila,” dagdag pa.
Matatandaan na sinabi ni Gracioso na naghatid siya ng cash kay Vice President Sara Duterte, Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte at dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa utos ni dating House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
Itinanggi naman ni VP Sara ang mga alegasyon laban sa kanya.
Sinabi ni Matibag na natukoy ng NBI ang 14 real properties na nakalista sa Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) ng Bise Presidente.
“We asked our people on the ground to investigate. They will go directly to the locations and identify the properties that were flagged in the SALN,” sinabi pa ng opisyal.
Tinukoy din ni Matibag ang agricultural land sa Barangay Catigan na idineklarang nagkakahalaga ng mula P437,000 hanggang P450,000.
“There, this is one of the properties. It was declared as agricultural land. Its combined value is only around P900,000, but if you look at the resort, it is worth more than P900,000, and there is no declaration of improvements,” aniya.
Ieendorso ng NBI ang resulta ng imbestigasyon nito sa Department of Justice o Office of the Ombudsman.
Samantala, ipinresenta rin ni Matibag ang isang ari-arian sa Samal na nagkakahalaga ng P1 milyon at pagmamay-ari umano ni Paolo Duterte.
Sa Facebook post, hinamon naman ni Paolo Duterte si Matibag at sinabing maglatag ng ebidensya para sumuporta sa kanyang mga alegasyon.
Aniya, nagtitiwala siyang alam ng NBI director ang pagkakaiba ng larawan sa proof of ownership.
“The louder an allegation is repeated, the more important it becomes to establish whether it is true,” aniya.
“Director Matibag, I will not ask the public to take my word over yours. I am simply asking that you produce evidence and allow the facts to speak for themselves,” dagdag pa nito.
“If you have proof, present it. If you do not, the responsible course is to correct the record, not to mistake public office for a license to make accusations.” RNT/JGC
