NBI: Velasco, wife left PH before former aide made ‘delivery’ claim

MANILA, Philippines — Former Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his wife have been out of the country for days since Aug. 30, or days before his former security aide linked them to alleged cash deliveries, worth more than P3 billion, that he made to members of the Duterte family.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag, in a Viber message to the Inquirer on Tuesday, said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had confirmed to the NBI that Velasco left for Nagoya, Japan, on Aug. 30. The former House official was scheduled to return on Sept. 14 but BI records showed that he did not make that trip.

Velasco’s wife, Rowena, along with two others, traveled to Hong Kong on Sept. 24 but has yet to return as scheduled on Sept. 27, Matibag said.

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He confirmed the couple’s departure after Velasco’s former security aide, dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., appeared at the NBI on Monday for questioning regarding  his allegations that he delivered more than P2 billion to Vice President Sara Duterte; P1 billion to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte; and P100 million to her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, in tranches starting 2018.

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READ: Gracioso sought priest’s help over alleged Duterte cash deliveries

Gracioso, who was dismissed from the police service on Sept. 11 over an administrative case, said these deliveries of cash packed in suitcases were made on the former Speaker’s instructions.

Velasco, through a spokesperson, earlier issued a statement denying Gracioso’s allegation,  calling it “fabricated.”

Vice President Duterte had also denied Gracioso’s allegations, stressing she did not know him and calling his statements a mere “media stunt [meant to] breathe life into a faltering impeachment case.”

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In a statement, the BI said there was “no existing” hold departure order or any derogatory alert issued against Velasco to stop him from leaving the country.

BI spokesperson Anisha Hassan withheld further details on the ex-Speaker’s departure, citing data privacy.

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Matibag said the NBI would invite all individuals named by Gracioso, including the Dutertes and the Velascos, as the bureau starts looking into the allegations.

Probe to proceed

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday said the police would also check Gracioso’s background, acknowledging the political sensitivity of the allegations.

“[Gracioso] has gone under the witness protection program, right? The DOJ (Department of Justice) will assess whether he is worthy or not of witness protection,” Remulla said.

The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said the investigation would proceed regardless of the administrative cases filed against Gracioso during his years in police service.

“Based on our latest records, he had five cases,” said PNP public information office chief Col. Allen Rae Co. “We will treat his (Gracioso’s) statement, as stated by our Secretary [and] as directed by our chief PNP, on its own merit.”

Co noted that most of Gracioso’s cases appeared to have been filed after his security assignment with Velasco ended in March 2022, including cases from 2023 and 2025.

Gracioso, 36, a native of Northern Samar and formerly assigned to the Calabarzon regional police, served as one of Velasco’s security aides from November 2020 to March 2022, according to Co.

But in his affidavit sent to the NBI, Gracioso said he served Velasco from 2017 to 2024 and that he met Vice President Duterte for the first time in 2018.

He was dismissed from the service early this month for alleged grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer. Co said Gracioso had filed an appeal. 

NBI appearance

In an interview with reporters after appearing at the NBI office on Monday, Gracioso presented what he described as “evidence,” including photos of himself with the Vice President that he submitted to the bureau.

Gracioso was accompanied by Catholic priest Flavie Villanueva, whom he asked for help in exposing the supposed cash deliveries.Villanueva, who has been helping the families of drug war victims, said Gracioso went to his house in Metro Manila on the night of March 26 to ask for help in exposing the alleged cash deliveries to the Dutertes.

“Prior to that, he consulted with his two godfathers, who are also priests, on how to reach me,”

He said the former police officer also showed him photographs of his supposed evidence.

“Human as I am, there were some doubts. But when I listened to him and saw some photos, the first thing I established was that there was truth because they were friends; their proximity, as shown in the photos of him and his principals, was not by chance. So that’s where the journey began,” he said.

Villanueva, in a separate interview with the Inquirer, said that Gracioso first went to the NBI to seek help around June this year.

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In a Viber message to the Inquirer on Monday, Matibag said the bureau began its formal investigation this month, since investigators first evaluated the information that Gracioso had provided. /cb