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TATTOO ON BACK PROOF OF MEMBERSHIP

Trillanes claims Paolo Duterte part of triad


Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte may be part of a triad, Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV claimed on Thursday.

"Binigay sa 'kin ng foreign intelligence... Si Paolo Duterte member ng triad. Ang proof ng kaniyang membership, ang kaniyang tattoo sa likod," Trillanes said in a Senate hearing regarding the P6.4-billion worth of shabu shipment which was smuggled into the country from China last May.

According to Trillanes, the membership of Duterte in a triad could be proven by a colored, dragon-like tattoo on his back.

"That's the membership of triads. I am not making any baseless allegations here," Trillanes said, adding that the information was from "a foreign country."

While Duterte admitted that he had a tattoo on his back, he did not answer any questions regarding its appearance as he invoked his right to privacy.

"I am very sorry... but I cannot answer allegations based on hearsay," he said.

For his part, Senator Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, called on his colleagues to be careful with their allegations.

"The Chair would like to request respectfully that we should not make allegations here without any basis because triad is a very serious allegation and we should not abuse any of the witnesses here," he said.

"The Chair would like to counsel everyone here to be very careful because everybody has rights here and the Chair intends to ensure that we respect those rights," he added.

'No way'

Later during the hearing, Duterte turned down Trillanes' request for him to show his tattoo.

"No way," Duterte said when Trillanes requested to have the tattoo on his back photographed.

As Trillanes repeatedly requested Duterte to show the tattoo on his back, Duterte said: "Ilang beses ko ba sasagutin na ayaw ko?"

Malacañang on Thursday said Trillanes should have substantial evidence to support his allegations against Paolo Duterte.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Trillanes’ claim that Duterte was part of a drug triad was “pretty drastic.”

“Those are very serious allegations and he needs to have some substantial evidence to support that statement,” he said during a briefing. — KG/RSJ, GMA News

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