QUAD committee lead chairperson Robert Ace Barbers yesterday warned that there will be no let-up in the panel’s efforts to unmask personalities behind the extra judicial killings (EJKs) and the illegal drug trade that allowed billions of pesos of crystal meth or shabu to be smuggled into the country during the Duterte administration.
The Surigao del Norte lawmaker said the committee will pursue all leads and compel the appearance of public officials and private resource persons who may provide the pieces of evidence that the committee needs to pinpoint accountability.
“Wala pong sisinuhin ang quad comm. There will be no sacred cows. We will leave no stone unturned in the search for truth, justice, and accountability,” Barbers said during the 13th hearing of the mega panel.
The Mindanao legislator, who also chairs the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the EJKs and Duterte’s drug war are inseparable.
“It seemed like killing was not only tolerated but encouraged… as if the war on drugs could not be implemented without killing thousands,” he said.
Barbers pointed out that over the course of 12 past hearings, the committee has extracted detailed testimonies that implicated high-ranking officials, including former President Rodrigo Duterte, in enforcing a “reward system” for killing drug suspects.
The rewards supposedly ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, as testified by former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royima Garma and corroborated by former National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo.
Barbers noted that Duterte himself admitted during his testimony that police were instructed to fabricate scenarios of resistance to justify killings.
“Kanyang inamin na inutusan nya ang mga kapulisan na patayin ang mga drug personalities, bagama’t sinabi nya na dapat ito ay manlaban, na kung hindi naman manlalaban ay dapat piliting manlaban upang ma-justify ang pagpatay sa mga ito (He has admitted that he told the police to kill drug personalities who will fight back, and if they do not, they should provoke them to fight back to justify their killing),” he noted.
Likewise implicated by revelations of resource persons were former PNP chief-turned-senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa who was tagged in the murder of former Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa while in jail for an alleged drug case.
De la Rosa was also identified for framing former senator Leila de Lima in a trumped-up drug charge which led to her seven-year imprisonment without solid evidence.
In addition, former Customs personnel Jimmy Guban, businessman Mark Taguba, and dismissed police colonel Eduardo Acierto have accused Davao City Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte, Vice President Duterte’s husband Manases “Mans” Carpio, and Yang of links to large-scale shabu smuggling operations.
Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was also implicated for lobbying the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on behalf of POGO operator Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga.
Records further revealed Roque’s unexplained surge in declared assets, which he failed to adequately address.
Barbers has said that the people behind illegal drugs trade and POGO operators have resorted to black propaganda by hiring narco-bloggers to malign members of the mega panel.
“Maraming bayarang trolls at kritiko na wala namang naintindihan sa usapin o sadyang ayaw umintindi. But the truth will prevail. Ang Quad Comm ay matagumpay na humaharap sa lahat ng pagsubok upang mabatid ang katotohanan at mabigyan ng katarungan at kasagutan ang ating mga hinaing,” he said.
GRIJALDO
During yesterday’s hearing, the quad committee cited Police Col. Hector Grijaldo in contempt and ordered his arrest for repeatedly avoiding invitations to appear before the committee.
Grijaldo had previously corroborated the revelation of retired PCol. Garma about the “Davao Template,” or the system of paying cash rewards to police officers for killing individuals suspected of links to illegal drugs.
However, he made a turnaround in a separate hearing before the Senate and retracted his testimony, claiming that two members of the House panel alleged coerced him to provide details that dovetailed with Garma’s statements.
Assistant Majority Leader and Taguig City Rep. Pammy Zamora noted that yesterday was the fourth time that Grijaldo has snubbed the hearing with one pretext or another.
“I think we’ve given him… enough leeway. I think it’s the right time to make an appropriate motion. This is, I believe, his fourth time to skip the quad comm. I’m sorry, but I really believe it’s high time… that I move to cite Col. Hector Grijaldo in contempt,” Zamora said.
Barbers approved the motions after other panel members seconded it without any objection raised.
Police Col. Rowena Acosta, chief of the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, informed the panel that Grijaldo is already facing a pre-charge investigation for an administrative case of neglect of duty after he failed to appear at their November 7, 2024 hearing.
A similar investigation got underway after Grijaldo again failed to show up on November 27, 2024.
Police Col. Dominic Guevara, chief of the PNP General Hospital, said a medical evaluation was done last December 3 on Grijaldo who sought treatment at a Pasig health facility for “rotator cuff syndrome.”
Police Lt. Col. Lionel Garcia, chief of the Orthopedic Department, told the panel: “Upon checking the patient, the patient is awake, coherent, cooperative, and ambulatory. Upon knowing he underwent shoulder surgery last December 2, one day post-operatively, he underwent physiotherapy bedside post.”
“On my orthopedic point of view, the patient may be able to attend this hearing but depende po ‘yan kung papayagan siya ng kanyang attending doctor. Hindi po kasi namin nakita ‘yung kanyang medical record, which is hindi kami pinayagan ng hospital (that would depend if his attending doctors would allow him. We did not see his medical record, the hospital did not allow us to see it),” Garcia said.
ROSE NONO LIN
Other than Grijaldo, the quad committee also trained its guns on businesswoman Rose Nono Lin who was identified as the wife of Lin Weixiong, alias Allan Lim, a suspected drug lord with connections to Duterte’s former economic adviser, Michael Yang, and to money laundering operations for illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
Quezon City Rep. Patrick Vargas noted that Rose Nono Lin had already failed to heed the panel’s subpoena twice and moved that she likewise be held in contempt to compel her to answer questions from the committee members.
“She’s here in the Philippines and I have pictures that two days ago she is campaigning in my district. The thing is, her statement, the information she has is very important. She is the only Filipino left in the highest matrixes issued by the Senate, House and by PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency). Siya na lang ang natitirang Pilipino dito (She’s the only remaining Filipino who is still here). We really need her here,” Vargas said.
Barbers however prevailed upon the Quezon City lawmaker to allow another invitation to be sent to Rose Nono Lin instead of a subpoena.
“We don’t want to create a misconception that we are strong-arming some people. If she does not appear in the next hearing, that will give us a ground to cite her in contempt. That will be followed by an order for her arrest,” the joint panel lead chair said.
The quad committee hearing was still ongoing as of printing time.
