The National Bureau of Investigation added another sworn statement and a set of photographs to its growing file on alleged cash deliveries to Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, September 28, 2026. The man behind them says the pictures prove he was in her company.
The statement came from Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., the dismissed policeman who claims he carried suitcases of money to the vice president on the orders of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco. Father Flavie Villanueva, the Catholic priest known for his ministry to families of drug war victims, went with him to the bureau. The NBI earlier said Gracioso first approached it with the priest’s help. The photos, which Gracioso said show him with Duterte, have not been independently verified.
In a sworn account the bureau released to GMA News, Gracioso described suitcases holding P20 million to P50 million each being taken to locations in Metro Manila, Davao, and elsewhere. He put the total he handed to the vice president at more than P2 billion over more than 20 trips. In an exclusive interview with the network, he said nearly every delivery also came with luxury bags, watches, and Royce chocolates, which he described as among Duterte’s favorites. He traced the first delivery to 2018, when Velasco’s wife, Rowena, allegedly told him to fill a small suitcase with P20 million and take it to a hotel.
His claims go beyond the vice president. He said he also took money to then-President Rodrigo Duterte at Malacañang between 2018 and 2022, and delivered a suitcase containing P100 million to Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag has stood by the witness so far. “Ang masasabi ko nga based on the test that we ran, which is the polygraph test, 99% yung truthfulness ng kanyang mga statements,” he said. He added that the bureau had also checked Gracioso’s account through other means and that the probe remains open. Pilipino Star Ngayon reported that Gracioso is in NBI custody and that the bureau is coordinating with the Department of Justice on his possible entry into the witness protection program. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said: “Affidavit of deponent has been received by the DOJ and is under evaluation.”
Duterte has rejected the account entirely. “Mga kababayan, I do not know Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., nor have I ever received any money from him,” she said in a statement released on Saturday, September 26. She called the allegations part of a political campaign against her. “This is nothing more than another media stunt, an attempt to breathe life into a faltering impeachment case,” she said. Her lawyers are waiting for an official copy of the affidavit from the NBI before preparing cases against him.
Velasco’s camp also denied the claims. His spokesperson, lawyer Rowell Ilagan, said the account was “inconsistent with verifiable events, that is, the COVID-19 pandemic, Atty. Velasco’s period of service as speaker, other details, and even basic common sense.” Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo called the story black propaganda aimed at removing the vice president and blocking her from the 2028 presidential race.
The House prosecution panel sees it differently. Its spokesperson, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong, said the claims should be taken seriously and could bear on the vice president’s alleged unexplained wealth, one of the articles of impeachment.
Gracioso’s police record has become part of the fight over his credibility. Napolcom records obtained by GMA News show he was suspended three times: from March 1 to 11, 2024; from October 21 to December 18, 2025; and from February 1 to July 31, 2026. In the 2025 case he was also demoted from corporal to patrolman for two counts of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer. His dismissal order is dated September 15, one day after he filed his sworn affidavit with the NBI on September 14, and took effect on September 11.
On Monday, PNP chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. confirmed that Gracioso had been assigned to Velasco’s security detail. He said the administrative case against him was accompanied by a criminal case filed around 2021 or 2022 and linked to Calabarzon.
