The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) stated that it was actively investigating the claims of former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes into the claim that the Duterte family received funds from Sammy Uy, a supposed drug lord in Davao.

Atty. Joseph Frederick Calulut, a spokesperson of PDEA, claimed that the agency was in the process of sifting through reports, noting that “Sammy Uy” was quite a common name.

“It is a known fact also na maraming mga foreign nationals or let us say Filipino-Chinese na magkakaparehas ang pangalan. So ‘yung mga iba baka gumagamit din ng ibang pangalan,” Calulut said.

(It is a known fact that there are many foreign nationals or let us say Filipino-Chinese that have similar names. Others might even use other names as aliases)

“Marami po kasing common po na pangalan, well, kung sinasabi nga ni senator Trillanes na siya po yun, tayo naman ho we still verify lahat ng information na binibitawan,” he added.

(There are many common names, well, even if senator Trillanes said that it is him, we still have to verify every information that is stated)

Calulut expressed that investigations into Sammy Uy had long been undertaken as he was also previously cited as a name involved in drug trade by self-confessed Davao Death Squad member, Edgar Matobato.

Despite the investigations itself supposedly beginning in 2022, the PDEA spokesperson claimed that the investigations have yet to yield any substantial results.

The “Sammy Uy” that was once again mentioned by the former senator during the most recent House Committee on Justice hearing on 22 April was a businessman in Davao City that had close relations with the Duterte family.

Trillanes alleged that Uy gave the Dutertes close to P182 million that was supposedly procured through drugs.

A day after the rekindling of the notion, former Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Manny Piñol came to the defense of the businessman.

Piñol claimed that Uy was an innocent man that was being dragged into political motives that sought to destroy the reputation of the previous President’s kin.

Even he, however, claimed to have no idea whether the supposed transactions that Trillanes raised had actual substance, noting that he was merely coming to Uy’s defense as the latter vouched for him when he faced corruption allegations during his time in the DA.

“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,” the former agriculture secretary said.