PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the alleged receipt of funds by companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, if proven to be true, is a “threat at the highest level.”
In an interview prior to his flight from Singapore to the Philippines, Marcos noted the investigation being conducted by the Department of National Defense (DND) and the National Security Council (NSC) into the said allegations.
“The most disturbing aspect of it is the Chinese money that now rises to a national security issue, kung totoo. If it is true, it is a national security issue,” Marcos said when asked for a comment on the ongoing impeachment trial of Duterte.
“Nothing would make me happier than proof that it is not true. Then it's one less thing that I have to worry about. But if it is true, it is a threat at the highest level to the Republic,” he added.
During the presentation of Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura as witness for the prosecution in the impeachment trial, he said of the P4.4 billion worth of transactions in accounts linked to Duterte and her husband Attorney Manases Carpio, were flagged by the banks.
These include remittances to Cale88, a firm owned by Carpio which received a total of P319 million from Chinese corporations including China National Township Enterprises and Beijing Zhenweifang Food Company, supposedly owned by the Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
The couple’s receipt of funds from China was first floated by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
DND Secretary Gilbert Teodoro earlier urged Trillanes to submit the evidence related to his claim to law enforcement agencies saying it raises serious implications on national security and that it should be investigated thoroughly.
The NSC said they are taking the matter seriously and that it will look into the national security implications of the reported foreign financial inflows in the accounts linked to Duterte. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)