MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday claimed that Mark Taguba, an alleged Customs “fixer,” was pressured to deny that he directly linked a presidential son and son-in-law to the shipment of billions of illegal drugs from China to the Philippines.

This is the latest saga in a Senate investigation that has dragged the names of members of the first family, seen testy, acrimonious and personal exchanges even between lawmakers and claimed the head of the agency’s former chief.

Taguba on Friday released a statement through his lawyer, Raymund Fortun, denying that he had testified before the Senate blue ribbon committee that Paolo Duterte, President Rodrigo Duterte’s son and vice mayor of Davao City, and Manases Carpio were involved in the entry into the country of 604 kilos of methamphetamine or locally known as “shabu” valued at billions of pesos.

In his previous testimonies, Taguba admitted to making payments to alleged members of the Davao Group who acted as representatives of Vice Mayor Duterte.

Taguba told the Senate that he had given P5 million in cash to Nilo Abellera, a councilor in Davao City, who claimed to be representing the vice mayor and said that he could help the broker fix his problems at the Bureau of Customs. The councilor has denied the accusation.

The broker, however, claimed that the names of Duterte and Carpio were “merely mentioned” by the Davao Group whose direct contacts to him were a certain “Tita Nannie” and “Jack.”

“As I had repeatedly stated before Congress and the Senate, the alleged involvement of the aforementioned individuals are (sic) hearsay in nature,” Taguba said in his statement.

For Trillanes, the change in tune was suspicious, claiming that pressure was being exerted on the broker to alter his testimony.

“I can only imagine the pressure being applied on Mr. Taguba right now,” the senator, one of the fiercest critics of the president, said in a separate media statement.

Trillanes said that the public knew what Taguba said and did not say because the Senate hearings were broadcast on national television and widely covered by the media.

He declared that the apology would not change anything and would not prevent the appearance of the younger Duterte and Carpio before the Senate panel. He likened this apology to the fist salute of the parents of Kian Loyd delos Santos with the president several days ago, referring to the teenager killed by police in an alleged anti-drugs raid in Caloocan City more than two weeks ago.

“The text messages read aloud which named Paolo Duterte and Mans Carpio were never forced on him and neither were they fabricated,” Trillanes said, referring to the SMS messages between Taguba and the alleged representatives of the Davao City vice mayor.

Taguba’s clarification is the latest episode in the investigation into how P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs found its way in a Valenzuela City warehouse.

The hearings, both in the Senate and the House, have revealed the depth of the problem on corruption at the Bureau of Customs, traditionally tagged as one of the most corrupt government agencies.

In a coruscating speech, Sen. Panfilo Lacson even alleged that Nicanor Faeldon, the former Customs head who recently resigned as his leadership was buffeted by criticisms, received P100 million as his welcome gift when he assumed the post last year. Faeldon has denied the charge and accused the son of the senator of being involved in the smuggling of cement in the country.

Lawmakers investigating the scandal also clashed over the way the probe should be conducted.

On Thursday, Sen. Richard Gordon, a member of the Senate majority and the chair of the panel investigating the issue, and Trillanes engaged in an intense tit-for-tat over allegations that the body was protecting Duterte and Carpio.

Trillanes claimed that the panel had become a “committee de abswelto,” a charge that prompted Gordon to mull filing an ethics complaint against the former soldier.