Manila: Former senator and Caloocan City mayoralty candidate Antonio Trillanes IV filed a supplemental affidavit before the Department of Justice to bolster the drug smuggling charges he filed against Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon, and lawyer Mans Carpio, among others. The charges are related to the PHP6.4-billion shabu shipment seized in Valenzuela City in 2017.

According to Philippines News Agency, Trillanes stated that the additional evidence includes information obtained during the House of Representatives quad committee hearings. Trillanes mentioned that Mark Taguba testified during these hearings, claiming he provided money for protection to Pulong Duterte and was subsequently chosen to import the shabu shipment. Trillanes emphasized that this evidence was crucial in the prosecution of Mark Taguba.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46, in a 37-page decision dated Nov. 18, 2024, found businessman Taguba and his co-accused, Eirene Mae Tatad and Dong Yi Shen (alias Kenneth Dong), guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The case stems from a May 26, 2017, operation in which agents from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), National Bureau of Investigation, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency raided warehouses in Valenzuela City. They discovered 605 kilos of shabu, which bypassed the BOC’s alert system and was classified under the ‘green lane,’ exempting it from physical inspection and document verification.