'A friend and drinking buddy'
Pulong says of Charlie Tan
MANILA - Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte confirmed Thursday that businessman Charlie Tan is his "friend and drinking buddy".
Tan was named by Senator Panfilo Lacson in his previous privilege speech as one of the bribe givers or "players" in the so-called Davao Group, a syndicate allegedly operating in the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Photos of Duterte and Tan, an alleged smuggler, have recently circulated online.
Included in a batch of photos is of him and Duterte beside each other, allegedly in one of their travels to China.
Duterte said Tan is a businessman based in Davao City.
Among the businesses he owned, he said, are a KTV bar, a seafood business in Palawan, and a piggery.
"Minsan naman nagiinuman kami. Kainuman ko po," he added.
Duterte, meanwhile, refused to answer when asked if there is a possibility that Tan could be involved in the P6.4 billion worth of shabu smuggled into the country from China.
"Your honor, I think Charlie Tan can best answer that question," he said.
Tan is now facing a criminal complaint for violation of Section 4 (importation of dangerous drugs) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly facilitating the entry of shabu into the country from China.
Also facing a similar complaint are Customs broker Mark Taguba, the owner of the warehouse where the shabu was found, Chen Lu Jong alias Richard Chen, and six others.