Robin Padilla denies receiving money from China

Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.

Senator-judge Robin Padilla said Tuesday he never received even a single centavo from China or Chinese entities, as he admitted being linked to an alliance that supposedly received P150 million from the country.

On the Day 34 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Padilla asked that the Tapang at Malasakit Alliance for the Philippines no longer be dragged in the issue as alleged by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

"Sana po masabi lang doon sa ating mga kasama na, tutal hindi naman nabanggit dito 'yung sa Tapang at Malasakit, hinihingi ko po na 'wag naman kaming madamay lahat. Kasi kasama kami diyan eh. Hindi naman po 'yan nabanggit dito sa korte. Binanggit 'yan ni former senator Trillanes na hindi sa korteng ito," Padilla said.

(I hope the parties realize that since the Tapang at Malasakit was not initially mentioned here in the trial, I ask that we not all be implicated. Because we are part of that alliance. It wasn't brought up here in the trial. It was former senator Trillanes who mentioned it, but not in this court.)

"So hinihiling ko lang po sa mga kasama ko na pagka-gineralarize po natin 'yan na Tapang at Malasakit, kasama po kami diyan. Wala po akong natanggap na pera kahit na singko sa mga Intsik,” he added.

(So, I just want to ask the parties to consider that when we generalize the Tapang at Malasakit, they’re reminded that we are included in that. I never received a single cent from the Chinese.)

To recall, Trillanes claimed that Cale88 Foods Corporation and Tapang at Malasakit Alliance for the Philippines Inc., which were declared assets of Duterte in her joint SALN with her husband, lawyer Mans Carpio, received P319 million and P150 million, respectively, from the Chinese government and firms.

In 2017, then-Davao City mayor Duterte led the launching of the Tapang at Malasakit Alliance for the Philippines in support of the administration of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte. — VDV, GMA News