PRIEST SAYS EX-COP SOUGHT GUIDANCE BEFORE ALLEGING CASH DELIVERIES TO DUTERTES

Father Flavie Villanueva said former police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. sought his help before coming forward with allegations that he delivered suitcases of cash to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

According to Villanueva, Gracioso approached him because his conscience would no longer allow him to remain silent and sought guidance and forgiveness through the priest.

“It is when conscience will no longer let a person stay silent that the search for guidance becomes most pressing,” Villanueva said in a Viber message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Villanueva added that his role was not to judge or accuse Gracioso, but to accompany him as he decided to speak about what he claimed to have witnessed.

Gracioso, who identified himself as a former security aide of then-House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, has alleged that he delivered cash-filled suitcases to members of the Duterte family upon Velasco’s instructions. He claimed the deliveries to Sara Duterte alone totaled more than ₱2 billion across more than 20 occasions.

The former police officer and Villanueva went to the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday, where Gracioso stood by his allegations and submitted additional material as authorities continued examining his claims. The NBI has said it conducted a polygraph examination and independently validated some of his statements, while stressing that the investigation remains ongoing.

Sara Duterte has denied knowing Gracioso and denied ever receiving money from him. Velasco’s camp has likewise rejected the allegations, calling them fabricated and inconsistent with verifiable events.

The allegations have not been established as fact and remain subject to the NBI’s investigation.