Ex-DA chief Manny Piñol defends 'old friend' Sammy Uy

Former Agriculture chief Manny Piñol has come to the defense of Davao City businessman Sammy Uy, whom he described as an "old friend."

In a Facebook post, Piñol claimed that Uy was being unfairly targeted due to his ties with the Dutertes.

“I was shocked to hear the name of an old friend unjustly vilified… simply because of his friendship with former President Rodrigo Duterte,” Piñol said.

Read: Who is Sammy Uy?

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday claimed that Uy is a "drug lord" and that Vice President Sara Duterte and the immediate members of her family received P181 million from him. 

But according to Piñol, Uy is a businessman from a Filipino-Chinese family in Davao City involved in appliance retail and agriculture.

"He belongs to an old Filipino-Chinese family which owns one of the oldest Appliance Stores in Davao City, DIMDI, and the pioneering Davao Farms involved in poultry and hogs," Piñol said in his post. 

"Accusing Sammy of involvement in drugs just to destroy the Duterte Family is simply stretching the political black propaganda beyond what is believable," he added. 

Piñol also maintained that the businessman did not take advantage of his connection with the Dutertes.

"Davao City old-timers will attest to the fact that while Sammy was like a brother to Rody Duterte, he did not abuse or take advantage of their friendship when the latter became President," said Piñol.

In 2017, Trillanes—a longtime critic of the Duterte family—alleged that Uy made bank deposits to accounts of Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife and children. He again mentioned this in the House impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.

Piñol, meanwhile, said that he has no "no knowledge" about the transactions. 

"I have to make it clear that I could not make any comment on the alleged financial transactions between Sammy and the Dutertes because I have no knowledge if it really ever happened," he said. —VAL, GMA News