Duterte orders arrest of Guban

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has ordered the arrest of former BOC intelligence officer Jimmy Guban on how P6.8 billion worth of shabu slipped past the bureau. This was after the word war between top Bureau of Customs and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials.

“Tell me, who is this guy asking for money, extortion? I will call him here, I’ll have him arrested,” Duterte said yesterday at Malacañang as the House conducted its inquiry into the shabu shipment.

Duterte said he has given orders to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde to arrest Guban.

“Sabihin mo dalhin sa Cavite. Ihulog sa… Siya ang nagpasok, siya ang nag-fake ng ID…(Tell the NBI, bring Guban to Cavite. Drop him into… He was the one who brought in the contraband, he faked the ID…),” Duterte said.

Duterte said he saw Guban’s testimony while he was dressing up for his official appointments yesterday.

Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña has back-tracked on his earlier statement and said he is convinced that the magnetic lifters found in Cavite may have contained illegal drugs.

Duterte earlier said there is no basis to say that the shipment intercepted by PDEA agents contained shabu.

Duterte ordered Lapeña and Aquino to stop swapping accusations in public and work together to stop the drug smugglers.

Duterte also vouched for the integrity of Lapeña and Aquino.

“Lapeña is good, he has been with me. Believe me, he served Davao City more than 15 years. Also, Aquino, but they are outsmarted instead of killing the idiots,” Duterte said during the 2018 Philippine Heritage Awards, Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan and National Artist Awards yesterday in Malacañang.

“Why don’t you just stop blaming (each other) and go for the…” he said.

“Good for you, but I will be ordering the arrest of all of you. They kept coming back… There has to be something seriously wrong,” Duterte said.

Duterte said he has done everything in the BOC, like removing and replacing people.

“The system is corrupt. This government, this democracy is not working unless we have a graft-free country or at least a semblance of regularity that can function,” he said.