Paolo Duterte: Appearing before the Senate probe on alleged corruption in the Bureau of Customs!

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday claimed a tattoo on Paolo Duterte’s back proves his membership in the Chinese Triad but the Davao City vice mayor, while admitting he does have one, invoked his “right to privacy” when asked about details of the design.

Trillanes claimed his knowledge of Duterte’s tattoo was based on “intelligence from a foreign country” that he did not, however, name.

Appearing before the Senate probe on alleged corruption in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said he would not answer allegations “based on hearsay.” “In compliance with the invitation of this honorable committee and as a gesture of respect to the Senate, I am formally appearing in today’s proceedings. Once and for all, I now have the time to deny any and all baseless allegations thrown against me,” Duterte said in a prepared statement. “My presence here is for the Filipino people and fellow Davaoeños. I am very sorry but I cannot answer allegations based on hearsay,” he said.

He added that the supposed Triad connection indicated that there was a “competition among syndicates” and then asked Duterte: “Will you show us that tattoo?” “I invoke my right to privacy,” the vice mayor replied. At this point, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee, cautioned against making “allegations without any basis. Triad is a serious allegation.”

Before raising Duterte’s tattoo, Trillanes showed several pictures of the vice mayor with Charlie Tan, the Davao-based trader whose name has been linked to smuggling, including of drugs, and who is alleged a close friend of the vice mayor.

Some of the pictures apparently showed Duterte and Tan traveling abroad together. This is not the first time Paolo has been mentioned in connection with smuggling.

In September 2016, Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed hitman of the so-called Davao Death Squad, which was allegedly set up by President Rodrigo Duterte when he was still mayor of the southern city, also linked Paolo to the alleged smuggling of rice and oil.

And in March this year, at an inquiry of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, retired Davao police officer Arturo Lascañas, who also claimed to be a death squad member, claimed Tan had smuggled in drugs in a container van of furniture from China for Paolo’s home.

he Senate Blue Ribbon Committee resumed its investigation on the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu through the BOC as well as the “tara system” in the agency. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV sought the invitation to the vice mayor and Carpio on allegations that they were involved in smuggling.

The presidential son then took a swipe at a senator, whom he did not name. “In closing, a Senator once said that we are a family of murderers and I am untouchable. Allow me to quote a message from a colleague of mine, every talk has its day; the law of karma will operate specially to those with evil intent,” he said.