VP Duterte: Marcos Behind Gracioso, Attacks

Vice President Sara Duterte believes that President Marcos is behind a demolition job against her, including the allegations made by Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., who claimed that he delivered over P2 billion in cash to her and members of her family.

Malacañang, however, promptly denied involvement in the alleged campaign to besmirch Duterte’s name, saying the Vice President is responsible for all her troubles.

“Who is behind the demolition job against me? The administration. The Palace. BBM (Bongbong Marcos),” the Vice President said when asked during a press conference in Davao City who is behind Gracioso. Bongbong is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s nickname.

Duterte said statements issued by Malacañang, along with the ongoing Senate impeachment trial against her, point to the President as the one spearheading the character assassination against her.

Reports of money in exchange for signatures for her impeachment in Congress and accusations of late release of projects for congressmen who did not sign the impeachment complaints add up to Duterte’s belief that Malacañang is out to destroy her.

Duterte pointed out that Malacañang’s communication team is trying to pin on her the corruption charges lodged against the President.

“All the issues about corruption that the President should answer for are being pinned on me,” Duterte said.

“The suitcases issue is his (Marcos), because he received the suitcases, according to Zaldy Co. Until now, it has not been answered,” Duterte added. 

Duterte denied Gracioso’s allegations that he delivered over P2 billion in cash kept in suitcases to the Vice President, her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

Duterte said she is willing to undergo a lie detector test if the National Bureau of Investigation releases the results of the lie detector tests taken by Gracioso.

“I have no problem with the lie detector test but they should show Gracioso’s lie detector test first because the only one who claimed that he passed the lie detector test is Gracioso himself,” Duterte added. 

“I don’t think Gracioso is angry with me. He’s motivated by money. As for the person who is motivated by money, he doesn’t have feelings, because it’s just money. It’s transactional. ‘I’ll say this, I’ll do this, because I’m paid,’” Duterte added.

She said the problem with Malacañang’s narrative is that they did not know that Gracioso was lying.

“The lies were exposed by the archives,” Duterte said.

The Vice President challenged National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag to file charges against Gracioso for making false accusations against her.

Nothing to destroy 

“There is nothing to destroy in Vice President Sara. It’s in her system,” Palace press officer 

Claire Castro said in an interview.

“The funds that are said to be owned by them (Duterte couple) can be seen in their bank records. Whatever funds they received that may have made them wealthy, do not attribute it to the President because the President did not benefit even from a single cent that they reportedly received,” she added.

Castro said people who are incapable of defending themselves tend to blame others for their troubles. 

“They (Duterte camp) do not have any concrete evidence. If they have the capability to explain, why did they not do so before? If she is capable of explaining the accusations against her, maybe we would not have reached the impeachment court,” the Palace press officer added. 

Duterte spokesman Paolo Panelo reacted after Castro criticized the Vice President over her statement that her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman had asked her younger brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, to run for national office in her place.

Not conclusive proof

The P4.4 billion in “covered and suspicious bank transactions” of the Vice President and her husband Manases Carpio from 2007 to 2025 are not “conclusive proof” of unexplained wealth and money laundering, the defense team stressed on Tuesday. 

Defense counsel Mark Vinluan noted that the AMLC official has no personal knowledge which will clearly establish that Duterte amassed hundreds of millions or billions of pesos. 

“I have no personal knowledge. What I am testifying only is what is indicated in the records regarding transactions reported to us,” Buenaventura said before the Senate impeachment court. 

“Covered transactions reports” or CTRs refer to all banking transactions while “suspicious transaction reports” or STRs are those that have been flagged for going beyond the allowed threshold of P500,000.

The AMLC official testified that the Vice President had 373 CTRs and 34 STRs covering a total of P3.732 billion, while Carpio accumulated about 363 CTRs and 30 STRs for transactions amounting to P749.921 million.

“The aggregate amount contained in your tabular summaries is large, but are the tabular summaries conclusive proof of VP Sara’s and Atty. Mans cash on hand and cash in the bank?” Vinluan asked Buenaventura. 

“No, Your Honor,” Buenaventura replied.

Manchurian candidate

Malacañang backed an in-depth investigation into alleged financial inflows from China into a company and foundation associated with the Duterte family.

“It is worthy of a thorough investigation and if it is true, it is dangerous to deal with a Manchurian candidate,” Castro said.

Castro reacted to remarks made by former lawmaker Robert Ace Barbers, a spokesman for the House prosecution panel, that the supposed transfer of P470 million from China to a firm owned by the Vice President’s husband and a foundation she established may be used for a “foreign-funded destabilization.”

Information obtained illegally

The Duterte camp countered the claim of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV that around P319 million in funds from the Chinese government and corporate sources entered businesses and a foundation linked to the Duterte family. 

Panelo said if anything was confirmed, it was only that Trillanes obtained his information illegally in violation of the AMLA and Bank Secrecy Laws. 

“Trillanes is no truth-teller. He is a professional anti-Duterte propagandist who tried to fill the gaps in the prosecution’s evidence with hearsay, rumors, malicious speculation and outright lies, delivered at a press conference where none of it could be scrutinized,” Panelo added.

Gracioso affidavit

Duterte confirmed that she has received a copy of the sworn affidavit of Gracioso, who claimed that he delivered over P2 billion in cash in suitcases to her and members of her family upon the orders of former House speaker Lord Allan Velasco. 

“I confirm… together with identification documents, but no other attachments,” Duterte said in a statement. 

“Based on our count, Gracioso made 29 statements concerning me that we believe are false. Among several other pieces of evidence, Jefry Tupas and I were nowhere near Marinduque during Mahal na Araw in 2019, nor were we in Manila on Sept. 21, 2019,” Duterte added.

Conflict of interest

Duterte accused House prosecutor Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of conflict of interest in the impeachment case against her because he worked as a consultant at the Davao City government. 

“You know, I’ve known that for a long time. I haven’t forgotten that Terry Ridon worked at the city government of Davao. I just didn’t bring it out because I want Terry Ridon to say to himself that ‘I have a conflict of interest here,’” Duterte said.

She said Ridon transferred to the Davao City government after he was allegedly sacked from the Philippine Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP).

Media

Journalists reporting on the impeachment trial should not be threatened, the International Association of Women in Radio and Television Philippines Chapter said.

The reporters criticized Vinluan for his veiled threat to journalists covering the impeachment proceedings.

“Such actions undermine press freedom and we will firmly call out any attempt to silence the press, regardless of where it originates,” it said in a statement. – With Alexis Romero, Helen Flores, Emmanuel Tupas