Press Release
April 5, 2019

De Lima writes 500th Dispatch, urges Paulo Duterte to show back tattoo

After roughly two years and two months since she was unjustly detained on trumped-up drug charges, Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has released her 500th Dispatch from Crame where she called on presidential son Paolo Duterte to show his tattoo on his back to disprove his reported involvement in the illegal drug trade.

De Lima, the first prominent political prisoner under the present administration, said it should be easy for Duterte to show his back tattoo before the Filipino public if he is not hiding anything.

"There's just one easy thing to do on the part of Paolo Duterte to put closure to this lingering issue about his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. Show his back. Does he have a tattoo or not? If so, what tattoo? Simple! Is that too much to ask? Aren't tattoos meant to be shown or displayed?" she asked.

A video uploaded on Youtube last April 2 by "Ang Totoong Narco List" entitled "Ang Totoong Narco List- Episode 1" has been making the rounds online after it tagged Duterte as among the personalities involved in illegal drug operations. The video already has 140,000 views as of this writing.

A certain "Bikoy," who introduced himself in the video as a former member of a large drug syndicate whose job was to record the group's transactions, alleged that Duterte was among the syndicate leaders who received kickbacks from the illegal drug trade.

Bikoy said the dragon tattoo on Duterte's back can prove the latter's ties to a drug trafficking triad, adding that the code located at the upper portion of the dragon is similar to one of his supposed codenames in the Tara: ALPHA TIERRA-0029.

Note that a syndicate leader with a code name "Polo Delta G01" and "Alpha Tierra-0029" - which Bikoy later on revealed to be Duterte - received P25 million and P20 million in four batches through the bank accounts named under CARPIOREYESWALDO and CARPIOWALDO.

The supposed owner of Duterte's dummy accounts pointed at Department of Agriculture Secretary Waldo Carpio, the brother of Manases Carpio, who is married to Mr. Duterte's sister, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

If he has nothing to hide, the lady Senator from Bicol said Mr. Duterte should not let another opportunity to pass for him to prove that his conscience is clean by showing his back tattoo.

"He had a chance to do that during the Senate hearing when challenged by Sen. Trillanes. He blew it. Here's another chance. If he has nothing to hide, Polong must go for it," he said.

It may be recalled that during the Senate hearing on the P6.4-billion smuggling of 604 kilos of methamphetamine or shabu into the Philippines in 2017, Sen. Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV accused Mr. Duterte of being part of a triad, a syndicate involved in a number of criminal activities.

Mr. Duterte may have already denied his involvement in the illegal drug trade in a recent interview claiming that certain "JS" whom he described as a smuggler of rice and sugar is wrongly accusing him, but the presidential son is yet to let the public see his tattoo.

Even without access to any electronic gadget and communication device, De Lima continues to regularly write and issue dispatches not only on social, economic and political issues but also on her reflections about the political persecution in the hands of the Duterte administration, and even personal and family matters.

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