Former Davao City information officer and Vice President Sara Duterte aide Jefry Tupas has slammed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following its recommendation to file charges against him.
Tupas labeled the move as pure harassment after the bureau pushed for the filing of complaints before the Department of Justice, including alleged obstruction of justice, cyber libel, and the publication of false news.
The charges originate from claims made by former police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., who alleged that Duterte instructed Tupas to collect suitcases loaded with billions of pesos under the direction of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
Both Duterte and Tupas have vehemently denied these allegations, with Duterte clarifying that Tupas functioned solely as Davao City’s information officer and never acted as her personal assistant or financial custodian.
During the investigation, Tupas submitted a counter-affidavit featuring airline reservations, stamped passport pages, and Facebook posts intended to debunk Gracioso’s timeline and claims. Despite this, the NBI proceeded with the case.
Tupas criticized the bureau under Director Melvin Matibag, noting a lack of physical evidence supporting the cash delivery claims while relying heavily on Gracioso’s statements.
Tupas also disputed Matibag’s assertion that information regarding safety threats originated from him. According to Tupas, NBI Special Assistant for Mindanao Concerns Voltaire Rovira and other operatives visited his North Cotabato home on Tuesday, September 29, proposing security assistance and protective custody—an arrangement he insists he never requested.
After asking Matibag for a formal invitation letter during a phone call concerning the Manila meeting, Tupas instead received a subpoena dated Monday, September 28, a day prior to the agents’ visit.
For Tupas, this sequence of events cast doubt on the bureau’s true motives, making him view the offers of protection and travel to Manila as pressure tactics.
”Now that he has publicly identified me as a witness, the apprehension over Matibag’s invitation for a meeting in Manila and the offer for protective custody becomes completely justified,” Tupas said.
He alleged that the outreach was a deceptive maneuver intended to trap him and coerce him into delivering fabricated testimony against Duterte in connection with a plunder investigation stemming from Gracioso’s claims.
”Gracioso’s allegations are completely fabricated, and I have presented concrete evidence to prove that they are outright lies,” Tupas stated.
Despite the looming legal battle, Tupas maintained his resolve, stating that the NBI could pursue any trumped-up charges it wished, but he would never allow himself to be manipulated into testifying for a fabricated case.