Gutierrez denies being emissary to silence ex-BOC intel officer

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency

Gutierrez said there is also a Senate rule that visits to any of its detainees need to be approved by the committee chairperson and the result must be reported to him. (File Photo: Presidential Task Force on Media Security/Facebook)

MANILA – Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director, Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, denied Friday his supposed links to Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, his brother-in-law Mans Carpio, and businessman Michael Yang.

This was after former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban claimed that Gutierrez served as an emissary to warn him not to tag Duterte, Carpio, and Yang in the 2018 shabu importation mess.

“At the Quadcomm hearing of Congress early today, my name was repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Jimmy Guban, the former customs intelligence officer who has been convicted for a drug trafficking incident in 2018. His statements against me are all falsehoods and clearly fed to him by someone else,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

He said he does not personally know and never met any of the Dutertes, Carpio, or Michael Yang.

He also denied allegations that he worked as an “assistant” of former environment undersecretary Benny Antiporda and was sent as an emissary to threaten Guban.

He said he was a reporter and columnist for newspaper People’s Tonight, covering the Customs and Senate beats at the time Guban was detained at the Senate.

“As the Senate and Customs beats are my area of coverage, I need to be there to cover the drug smuggling probe and all hearings at the Senate,” Gutierrez said. “I also never had any personal or professional dealings with Mr. Guban while I was covering the Customs beat, although the things I’ve been hearing about him at the waterfront are all unsavory.”

As a “lowly reporter,” Gutierrez said he was not in any position to make any threats to Guban, and even in front of a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee staff.

“How can I threaten him on behalf of people that I don’t know and who also do not know me? Also, if indeed, I did that, would this not be reported to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee leading to my being banned from further covering the Senate?” he said.

Gutierrez said there is also a Senate rule that visits to any of its detainees need to be approved by the committee chairperson and the result must be reported to him.

He confirmed that he visited Guban once, right after the Senate ordered him detained just to “check on his health condition as many at the time believed that he is just feigning ill health to avoid further questioning.”

“I also want to confirm from him if a former National Press Club officer is his ‘PR’ as this former officer is seen attending the Senate hearings although he no longer represents any newspaper. He did not answer me,” Gutierrez said.

He also belied Guban’s claim that Yang, a former economic adviser of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was a “member” of the National Press Club (NPC).

Gutierrez and Antiporda both served as president of the NPC.

“We have never met Mr. Yang nor has Mr. Yang ever set foot at the NPC,” Gutierrez said.