Senator Loren Legarda announced plans to file a resolution urging a Senate investigation into possible connections between disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein and entities in the Philippines.
Legarda cited U.S. Department of Justice reports suggesting Epstein may have used a Philippine-based organization to rehabilitate his online image.
She called on the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice to examine the so-called “Epstein Files,” which she described as “deeply troubling.”
“Whether these are billionaires, royalty, or high-ranking officials, they were allegedly named in millions of pages of the Epstein Files, which indicate a network in the Philippines as far back as 2010,” Legarda said.
The senator stressed that anti-sex trafficking laws were already in place at the time, making it vital to determine if local actors or organizations were involved. She also pointed to the possible role of public relations firms in allegedly “cleansing” Epstein’s image in the country.
Epstein was arrested in the U.S. in July 2019 for trafficking minors but died in custody a month later in what authorities ruled as suicide.