Trillanes Files Drug Smuggling Charges Against Rep. Duterte, VP’s Husband, and Former Customs Chief

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MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Antonio Trillanes filed a case with the Department of Justice on Wednesday, accusing Davao City First District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, Attorney Mans Carpio—husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, and several others of involvement in the 2017 drug smuggling incident involving a P6.4 billion shabu shipment.


The complaint also names former Presidential Adviser on Indigenous Peoples’ Concerns Allen Capuyan, Davao City Councilor Small Abellera, Charlie Tan, and four others.


This case traces back to May 2017 when 602.2 kilograms of crystal meth, valued at P6.4 billion, were smuggled from China through the Bureau of Customs’ express lane.


The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee conducted several public hearings, uncovering that the illegal drugs were given "green lane" status, allowing them to bypass Customs’ alert system without physical inspection or document verification.


“This morning, I filed a case against Pulong Duterte and other members of the Davao group smuggling syndicate,” Trillanes stated.


“This is the outcome of the Senate investigations in 2017, where we identified Pulong, Charlie Tan, and Mans Carpio as the key figures behind the P6.4 billion shabu shipment that bypassed Customs, with the collusion of Commissioner Nic Faeldon and former Presidential Adviser Allen Capuyan, known as the ‘Big Brother,’” he explained.


“The conspiracy to import the drugs from China to the Philippines involved significant interventions from ‘powerful insiders’—corrupt Customs officials and influential protectors who used their power to facilitate this illegal importation of dangerous drugs worth billions of pesos,” he added.


Trillanes accused the 10 respondents of violating Section 4 in relation to Section 26(a) of Republic Act No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as amended by Republic Act No. 10640; and Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.


“This situation exposes the fake war on drugs by Duterte. Thousands of suspected drug addicts were killed, yet they were the protectors and partners of big-time drug lords. They simply eliminated the competition in the illegal drug trade,” he asserted.


The media has reached out to the Office of the Vice President for a comment on the matter but has not received a response as of posting time.

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