Mans Carpio echoes wife VP Sara, says drug allegations are political attacks

Lawyer Manases "Mans" Carpio on Monday denied any involvement in the illegal drug trade, echoing his wife and Vice President Sara Duterte’s claims that such allegations against him are politically motivated.

Carpio was referring to the allegations made by former Customs intelligence officer turned detainee Jimmy Guban at a House investigation last week.

Guban accused Carpio, his brother-in-law and Davao City lawmaker Paolo Duterte and businessman Michael Yang of owning P11 billion worth of illegal drug shipment slipped into the country back in 2018.

“The allegations and insinuations made by Mr. Guban during the Quad Com hearing last Friday, August 16, 2024, are entirely baseless and maliciously false. The public and the esteemed members of the House of Representatives are, I trust, perceptive enough to recognize that Mr. Guban's claims, implicating Congressman Pulong [Duterte] and myself, are unmistakably politically motivated,” Carpio said.

Carpio also said that while he married into a political family, he never gets involved in politics or government policies.

“It has always been my personal policy and guiding principle to remain entirely separate from politics or any government-related matters. As a private citizen and a practicing lawyer, my sole concern is the welfare of my family and the diligent protection of my clients' rights and interests,” Carpio said.

Carpio, however, expressed confidence that the House members won’t find Guban’s testimony useful.

”I have full confidence that the members of the Quad Com possess the discernment to distinguish between fact and fiction in Mr. Guban's narrative. Indeed, Mr. Guban himself unequivocally admitted before the Quad Com that he had fabricated the statements in the affidavits he submitted during the Senate inquiry and court proceedings,” Carpio said.

Leaders of the four House committees conducting the probe, meanwhile, said the Duterte family has nothing to fear from the investigation if they have "nothing to hide."

"If the Dutertes have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear from our investigation. Our investigation is thorough and impartial. We follow the facts wherever they lead, and we won’t allow any distractions to derail our efforts," said Abang Lingkod party-list Representative Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano, chair of the House Committee on Public Accounts.

Guban, who has since been indicted in connection with the drug shipment, initially accused his then fellow police official, Senior Superintendent Eduardo Acierto, of smuggling in the P11 billion shabu shipment.

Guban, however, later backpedaled and said he and Acierto worked together to stop the entry of the said shipment. —KG/KBK, GMA Integrated News