BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Prominent Bacolod businessman Ricardo “Cano” Tan thanked President Rodrigo Duterte and other law enforcement agencies for helping clear his name and that of his family, from what he described as fabricated accusations against him.
Tan, a former councilor of Bacolod City, said he expressed his gratitude to Duterte for ordering the validation and re-validation of allegations against him and his family, following a meeting with his wife, Nita, that led to them being cleared of alleged illegal drug activities.
“Please be informed that as per report from the concerned offices under my jurisdiction, the information allegedly linking you and your family in the illegal drug trade has not been substantiated by a concrete evidence, as of this time,” P/Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, then Western Visayas PNP director, said, in his letter to Tan, who requested for an issuance of a clearance or certification clearing his name, and that of his family, from alleged illegal drug activities.
AMBUSH SURVIVORS
Tan, who owns the Campuestohan Highland Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, and his wife, survived an ambush perpetrated by still unidentified suspects on Dec. 14, 2018, in Brgy. Alangilan, Bacolod City, due to allegations that there was an alleged shabu laboratory in his resort.
“I was a victim of fake news, intrigue, lies and deception. It destroyed my life, family and it ruined me,” Tan, who got emotional during a press conference on May 2 at his resort, said.
A year after his ambush, Tan’s elder brother, Roberto, known as Kaishek to family and friends, was gunned down by two suspects on a motorcycle in Brgy. Estefania, Bacolod City.
“I am not a drug lord, and never have been a drug lord,” Tan, who made a public appearance for the first time in more than a year and six months after his ambush, said.
Tan said his businesses did not come from illegal activities, but through real hard work. He also defended his late brother, saying that Roberto had not been involved in any illegal activities.
“Everything we have now is the fruit of our labor for over 40 years now,” he added.
As to the culprits behind his ambush, Tan said he already left it for the authorities to investigate, adding that he already forgave those responsible for spreading the fake news against him. “Let me be your last victim. Enough is enough,” Tan said of those who had maligned and spread baseless accusations against him.*