EXPECT an interesting hearing Thursday when President Rodrigo Duterte’s son and son-in-law appear before the Senate to respond to allegations of involvement in corruption at the Bureau of Customs.
There are doubts anything solid and new would come out of the hearing or that the Senate body would end up with information they could use for a successful conclusion to its inquiry. But what senators can do is to not make the hearing about themselves by quarreling with each other but about the problem of corruption.
Presidential son Paolo Duterte and presidential son-in-law Maneses Carpio issued a statement yesterday, saying they would appear before the Senate blue ribbon committee that is investigating the shabu shipment from China worth P6.4 billion that passed through the customs bureau.
Paolo and Carpio, husband of the President’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, are expected to deny the claim they had a part in the shabu shipment. They are likely to dispute a statement on their involvement in a group that greases palms at the customs office so shipments get into the country without question. They are also expected to explain their ties with a businessman said to be a drug trader.
In accepting the invitation, Paolo and Carpio said in a statement, “We duly recognize the coercive powers of the Senate of the Philippines as part of the legislative branch of government and their authority to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation. We commit to respect the invitation and attend the hearing.”
Paolo and Carpio were mentioned in the testimony of customs fixer Mark Taguba in relation to the so-called Davao Group. Taguba later said the two were not involved in corruption at the Bureau of Customs and that his earlier statement was based on hearsay.
The invitation to Paolo and Carpio came as a surprise after the turnaround of Taguba and the verbal exchange between Sen. Richard Gordon, committee chair, and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in the last hearing. It started when Trillanes, a Duterte critic, called for the Senate to invite Paolo and Carpio to the next hearing. Gordon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III objected as the involvement of the two was not established. Trillanes said the blue ribbon committee was a “committee de abswelto (absolving)” for influential people. This led to a verbal exchange that ended with Gordon saying he would file an ethics complaint against Trillanes.
Gordon issued yesterday the invitation for Paolo and Carpio. Trillanes said Gordon decided this after he was pressured by the public.
With the Thursday session set up to have Paolo and Carpio as guests, we hope the inquiry would lead to action in terms of new legislation and not end up as a venue for more of the fireworks between Trillanes and Gordon.
Let the hearing not be about Gordon and Trillanes but about the deep-seated problem of corruption at the customs bureau.