BI, NBI confirm Velasco, wife out of Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — Former House speaker Lord Allan Velasco boarded a flight to Japan on Aug. 30 and did not fly back to Manila on Sept. 14, his expected date of return, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed yesterday.
Velasco’s wife Rowena followed him to Japan a day after, an airport insider said. Other reports, however, said she took a flight to Hong Kong.
Allegations that Velasco ordered cash deliveries to members of the Duterte family are being verified by the National Bureau of Investigation.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said dismissed policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., a former member of Velasco’s security team, had passed a polygraph test on his identity and links with the people he implicated, but the test did not establish the truth of his claims.
Photos, videos and other documents that Gracioso submitted are being authenticated by the NBI. Corroborating testimonies are being sought.
People named in Gracioso’s affidavit, including the Vice President, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, Velasco, his wife Rowena and others, will be invited by the NBI to state their case.
Gracioso claimed he delivered suitcases filled with cash to the Vice President and other members of her family on Velasco’s instructions.
Perjury charges could be filed against Gracioso if his claims are proven false, the NBI said.
No existing hold-departure order or derogatory alert would have prevented Velasco’s departure, the BI maintained.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs is waiting for the completion of the NBI’s probe into Gracioso’s claim that BOC personnel also delivered money to Velasco.
Gracioso alleged that personnel of the BOC, Department of Public Works and Highways and Bureau of Internal Revenue had delivered money to Velasco’s house in Valle Verde 2 in Pasig.
If these allegations are true, Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said they happened before he took leadership of the BOC.
“I will have to wait first. This is a hot issue and I don’t want to interfere in the process. This is happening in the context of the impeachment (trial of the Vice President),” Nepomuceno said. — Evelyn Macairan
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