Well well well.
Philippine President Duterte's son denies drugs role
7 September 2017
One of the sons of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has denied involvement in a drug smuggling operation.

Paolo Duterte told a senate inquiry that claims he helped ship drugs from China to the Philippines were "baseless".

The president's son-in-law also denied involvement, calling the allegations "rumours and gossip".

President Duterte launched a violent campaign against drug crime shortly after he came to power last year. Mr Duterte, whose crackdown has left thousands of people dead, has promised to resign if any family members are involved in the trade.

Paolo Duterte and Manases Carpio, who is married to Mr Duterte's daughter, Sara, are facing allegations that they helped facilitate a shipment of crystal methamphetamine worth $125.4m (£96m) into the country from China.

The claims centre around the testimony of a customs broker who says he heard their names mentioned in connection with the consignment. He has since issued a statement saying they were not involved.

An opposition senator who is a staunch critic of the government told the panel that Paolo Duterte had a tattoo on his back that proved he was a member of a drug gang.

Paolo Duterte, who is the vice-mayor of Davao city, said he could not "answer allegations based on hearsay" and declined to describe his tattoo.

Mr Carpio said he had "no knowledge of, or involvement, in the illegal drugs shipment"...

It's a wild world out there...

Rodrigo Duterte tells police to “kill my son” if drug allegations are true
21 Sept 2017
PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to kill his eldest son if drug trafficking allegations are proven to be true. Mr Duterte’s 42-year-old son, Paolo, currently serves as vice-mayor of Davao, the family’s home and the country’s third-largest city.

The president, who has been nicknamed the “Punisher”, is renowned for sanctioning extrajudicial killing of suspected drug smugglers throughout the archipelago. Approximately 9000 people have been gunned down in the streets by police and vigilantes since the controversial “War on Drugs” began last year. None of them have been formally charged or tried in court.

Now the focus has turned to his son, who was accused of being a member of a Chinese organised crime syndicate during a hearing in the Philippines senate on September 7.
Senator Antonio Trillanes, a former navy officer, accused the younger Mr Duterte of being involved in an operation to import more than a tonne of crystal methamphetamine from China, which was reportedly worth 6.4 billion Philippine Pesos, or A$156.5 million.

He said Mr Duterte had helped fast-track the drugs through a customs office, and that a tattoo on his back proved he was a triad member.

Senator Trillanes alleged Mr Duterte’s brother-in-law Manases Carpio was also connected to the shipment which authorities discovered at a warehouse in May.

At the time, the Punisher called Senator Trillanes’ evidence “trash”. However, he has become considerably more stern in the months since.
“My orders are to kill you if you are caught, and I will protect the police who kill you,” he reportedly told his son...
http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/rodri ... d81e09644e