Former legal counsel dismisses cash-suitcase claim as fabricated plot against VP Sara Duterte

Salvador Panelo, a former chief presidential legal counsel, issued a statement calling the story of cash-filled suitcases delivered to the Duterte family a fabricated tale. The allegation came from former policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., who asserted he transported the suitcases to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte on the instructions of former House speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

Panelo denounced the account as a “Gracioso concoction” and “black propaganda,” likening it to the Madriaga affidavit. He warned that the forces behind the narrative aim to oust and disqualify Vice President Sara Duterte from the 2028 presidential contest. The statement suggests a politically motivated effort to erase her from the political arena, though no evidence has been provided to substantiate the cash-suitcase claim.