Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday denied owning a lot the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) linked to her asset declarations, accusing the agency of misleading the public a day after it presented properties under investigation for possible discrepancies in declared wealth.
“The lot in the photograph that he said was in my Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN is not mine,” Duterte said in a statement.
She questioned the use of public funds for the NBI’s operations, saying the agency was pursuing activities with “no clear public benefit.”
Duterte also linked the investigation to the NBI’s exclusion from the prosecution’s witness list in her Senate impeachment trial, alleging that the agency had presented questionable evidence similar to that in the affidavit of dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.
“This kind of deception of the public is the reason the NBI was removed from the list of witnesses the prosecution will present in the impeachment proceedings,” Duterte said in Filipino.
“When an agency is funded by public money, it is only right to ensure that every action it takes is in accordance with the law, based on truth and serves the interests of the people,” she added.
NBI on Monday announced that it was investigating 121 properties linked to Duterte and her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, including 24 properties that NBI Director Melvin Matibag said were declared in the vice president’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
The investigation stemmed from Gracioso’s allegations that he delivered suitcases of cash to members of the Duterte family on the instructions of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco. Gracioso has alleged that the deliveries involved billions of pesos.
Matibag said the bureau was examining whether money from the alleged deliveries had been invested in properties. The NBI has said it would refer its initial findings to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.
Stay informed
Get Daily Tribune in your inbox
Breaking news, opinion, and business coverage for readers in the Philippines and abroad.
Subscribe to the newsletterPrefer chat alerts? Join the Daily Tribune Viber community.