Invitations sent by Senate committee to Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Monday sent invitations to Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law, lawyer Manases Carpio, to attend its probe on the “tara” system at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Copies of the letters obtained by dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo show that the committee sought their presence on Thursday, September 7.

The letters signed by Blue Ribbon Oversight Office Management (BROOM) Service Chief Agapito Rene Conchu were sent to the offices of Paolo and Carpio in Davao City.

The blue ribbon committee chaired by Senator Richard Gordon was initially investigating the smuggling of P6.4-billion shabu from China that slipped through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) without inspection. A separate privilege speech of Senator Panfilo Lacson on August 23 disclosing the tara system at the BOC was then also referred to the committee.

It was Antonio Trillanes IV who moved that an invitation be sent to both Paolo and Carpio after their names were mentioned during the Senate probe. Customs fixer Mark Taguba said he heard members of the so-called Davao Group mention the names of Paolo and Carpio.

Gordon, who initially remarked that the allegations against the two were “hearsay,” said they should appear before the committee.

“I expect them to be... If they are my sons, if they are my family, I expect them to be on a higher plane than any ordinary citizen na kahit na konting quip sagutin nila,” Gordon said.

In a separate interview, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the probe on Thursday would focus on the speech of Lacson.

“Ang alam ko nabanggit kanina ni Senador Gordon, the issue on Thursday would be the privilege speech of Sen. Lacson which is the issue on the tara, no longer on the 600 kilos or the P6.4 billion ng shabu which is being insisted noong last hearing,” Sotto said.

The names of Paolo and Carpio, however, were not mentioned by Lacson in his speech. — RSJ/KVD, GMA News