DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Presidential son Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law, lawyer Manases Carpio, filed on Wednesday a civil case against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for dragging them into the scandal over the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of crystal meth, or shabu, under the noses of the Bureau of Customs.
At the same time, Davao Mayor Sara, who is Duterte’s sister and Carpio’s wife, took a swipe at Trillanes, calling him “mema” (may masabi lang or someone who talks just to say something) for claiming Paolo’s resignation as vice mayor on Christmas Day was to avoid being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman.
The complaint of Duterte and Carpio was electronically raffled to Regional Trial Court Branch 15 under Judge Mario Duaves.
Branch 15 clerk of court Kaiser Kate Narciso declined to show the complaint, saying only involved parties are allowed to access the documents. She also declined to give further information.
Trillanes claimed Duterte and Carpio, as well as Davao Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera Jr., were key members of a so-called “Davao Group” that supposedly facilitated the release of questionable shipments from the Bureau of Customs.
This was later bolstered by customs broker Mark Taguba II, who was central to the shabu smuggling scandal.
Appearing at the Senate probe, Carpio admitted visiting the BOC on behalf of clients but denied any links to smuggling.
Duterte, on the other hand, refused Trillanes’ dare to show his back, where the senator claimed he had a tattoo that would supposedly prove his membership in a Chinese “triad” or crime syndicate.
