PNP: Ex-cop Gracioso who claimed to deliver money to Duterte family was Velasco security detail - GMA Network

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday confirmed that former Police Patrolman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. had previously been assigned to the security detail of then-House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

"Yes. Nandoon sa mga panahon na 'yun (It was during those times). I think it's... I have to check, but he'd been detailed as security or staff of former speaker Velasco," PNP chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in an ambush interview.

The PNP also confirmed that Gracioso was dismissed from the service on September 11 this year.

"Gracioso had been investigated, administrative case, and there is a corresponding criminal case filed against him, but that was long before. I think it's a case in year 2022 or 2021," he added.

"And so now, 'yung administration ng justice natin in terms of admin case, finally na-result, resulting to his dismissal from the service. And before that, mayroon din siyang kaakibat na (he had a) suspension that was being served," he added.

According to Nartatez, the ex-cop faced a case in Calabarzon.

Gracioso surfaced last week and claimed that he was the one who allegedly delivered bags of money to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo "Pulong" Duterte.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating Gracioso’s claims.

Authorities will verify the allegations made by Gracioso against the Dutertes before accepting them as fact, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday.

Meanwhile, the the PNP suspended Gracioso thrice before dismissing him from service on September 15, 2026.

Nartatez ordered the dismissal of Gracioso due to “three counts of less grave misconduct.”

The order was dated September 15, 2026, one day after he submitted his official sworn and subscribed affidavit to the NBI on September 14.

The dismissal, effective September 11, also ordered the penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and disqualification for re-employment in government service.

GMA News also obtained Gracioso’s service record that shows he had three suspensions prior to his dismissal.

Gracioso was suspended on March 1-11, 2024, October 21-December 18, 2025, and February 1-July 31, 2026.

The order for his suspension on October 20, 2025 said Gracioso was suspended for 59 days due to grave threat.

Along with this suspension order in 2025, the PNP also demoted Gracioso from police corporal to patrolman, due to two counts of grave misconduct and for conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

The service record also indicated he was detained twice on November 15-21, 2024 and December 11-January 9, 2025.

The NBI earlier gave GMA News a copy of Gracioso’s affidavit where he detailed alleged deliveries of suitcases containing millions of cash to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte.

Vice President Sara Duterte however on Saturday said she does not know Gracioso, and she did not receive any money from him.

"Mga kababayan (My countrymen), I do not know Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., nor have I ever received any money from him," Duterte said in a statement.

"My lawyers are awaiting an official copy of the Gracioso affidavit from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) so they can begin working on the cases to be filed against him," she added.

"Once we are done dismantling the lies contained in his testimony, it will end up in the trash bin—just like the one from Ramil Madriaga," Duterte said.

The vice president said Gracioso's allegation is "another media stunt," adding that the Marcos administration is bent on bringing her down.

Velasco’s camp on Saturday said the allegations against him had “no basis.”

"The former Speaker of the House's record of service in the government is untainted with corruption and his wife's benevolence is widely known, leaving no basis for the illegal allegations now being suggested," said Velasco's spokesperson Atty. Rowell Ilagan in a statement.

"The 'one-size-fits-all' narration by this individual seems to be designed and fabricated to attack as many targets as it can while being 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," he added.

Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said on Sunday that Gracioso’s claims is a “fabricated story” to oust and disqualify Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2028 elections.

“The Gracioso concoction is obviously another fabricated story, pure and simple black propaganda, just like the Madriaga affidavit,” Panelo said in a statement.

“The brains behind the ouster and disqualification of VP Sara in the 2028 presidential elections will stop at nothing in order to succeed in their devious plan of obliterating her from the political landscape and from the face of the earth,” he added.

GMA News has sought comments through phone calls and messages to Paolo Duterte since Thursday, but he has yet to give any.

House prosecution panel spokesperson Representative Zia Adiong of Lanao del Sur meanwhile on Saturday said that claims that Sara Duterte received suitcases containing billions of pesos “have to be taken seriously.” —with a report from Jun Veneracion/KG, GMA News