By: Reigh John Bench Almendras
Photo from: Inquirer
Following his absence from the October 22 and November 7 hearings on the controversial war on drugs during his term, leaders of the House of Representatives Quad Committee urges former President Rodrigo Duterte to attend the probe, offering airfare and accommodations for succeeding hearings.
In a statement on Sunday, Nov. 10, Quad Committee head Robert Ace Barbers and his co-chairpersons – Reps. Dan Fernandez, Bienvenido Abante Jr., Joseph Stephen Paduano, along with vice-chair Romeo Acop, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., and Deputy Speaker David Suarez, pledged to personally fund the logistics for Duterte to remove any financial barriers the former chief executive cited as reasons for missing the panel’s hearings.
“If finances are truly an issue, we’re ready to cover his travel and accommodations ourselves. This is about the people’s right to know the truth about alleged abuses in his administration’s anti-drug operations,” Barbers said.
Meanwhile, following his continuing threats to congressmen participating in the investigations, select House members are also challenging the former president to face the probe, citing that he must face and not only threaten the members of the Quad Committee.
“With all due respect Mr. FPRRD (Duterte), don’t make any more excuses in not attending our hearings. Please make sure to be around on Wednesday, so that you can make true your threat to kick congressmen as you have repeatedly warned,” House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun said.
“Be here at the quad comm hearing, and go ahead, kick us if that will make you happy. I’m very sure your supporters nationwide will also be watching on national TV or YouTube, ready to give you the loudest applause you want to hear,” he added.
Attorney Martin Delgra III, the former president’s legal counsel, shared that they had received the invitation for the hearing on November 2, but his client opted to skip the probe due to the “doubt in the independence and probity” of the committee and “to save the government time and taxpayer’s money” since he had already attended a similar probe under the Senate.
Based on reports, the war on drugs during former President Duterte’s tenure left approximately 6,000 people dead. Meanwhile, human rights watchdog Karapatan Alliance Philippines stated that the former chief executive should be held accountable for the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 individuals involved with drugs, the alleged summary execution of 422 political activists, and the reported frustrated extrajudicial killing of 544 others.