VP Sara expects NBI to file case vs Gracioso after probe

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday evening said she expects the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to file a case against dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. after the agency completes its investigation into his allegations of cash deliveries to her and her family.

Duterte made the statement after confirming that she had received a copy of Gracioso’s affidavit from the NBI, along with identification documents, but no other attachments.

“We expect a case to be filed by the NBI against Gracioso once the agency completes its investigation and the evidence is fully evaluated,” Duterte said in a statement.

The Vice President said her camp had counted 29 statements concerning her in Gracioso’s affidavit that it believes are false.

She cited the alleged whereabouts of herself and former aide Jefry Tupas on two dates in 2019 as among the evidence contradicting Gracioso’s account.

“Jefry Tupas and I were nowhere near Marinduque during Mahal na Araw in 2019, nor were we in Manila on September 21, 2019,” Duterte said.

Gracioso, a former police patrolman who served as part of the security detail of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, alleged that he delivered suitcases containing cash to Duterte and other members of the Duterte family on Velasco’s instructions.

Among the allegations was a supposed P100-million cash delivery in Marinduque in April 2019, with Gracioso claiming that two suitcases containing P50 million each were handed to Tupas. He also alleged that another P100 million was delivered to Tupas at the Diamond Hotel in Manila on 21 September 2019.

Tupas has denied the allegations and submitted his own affidavit to the NBI. He said he was in South Korea during the April 2019 incident cited by Gracioso and had never been to Marinduque. He also disputed the 21 September account, citing travel records and other documents to support his whereabouts.

Duterte had earlier denied knowing Gracioso and receiving money from him. Her lawyers had asked the NBI for a copy of his affidavit and supporting documents before she responded to the bureau's investigation.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag has said the bureau is verifying Gracioso’s allegations and examining the evidence he submitted, including photographs. He has also said that a perjury complaint could be pursued if Gracioso’s allegations are established to be false.

“If they want to file a perjury case, they need a document to base it on. What document will that be? The affidavit,” Matibag earlier said, explaining that the NBI could certify the original or a certified true copy of Gracioso’s sworn statement for use in legal proceedings.

Gracioso has already undergone two lie detector examinations at the NBI as part of the investigation. The bureau has said it is also interviewing personalities named in his affidavit and checking his claims through other investigative means.

The NBI on Monday also received lawyers for Velasco, who was among those named by Gracioso. The former speaker has been accused by Gracioso of instructing him to deliver cash to several personalities.