FORMER President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte wants the quad committee of the House of Representatives to hold a 10-day marathon hearing on the alleged extrajudicial killings related to his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said yesterday.
Panelo said the former president had told him that he would personally make his request before the joint panel this morning when he goes to the Batasang Pambansa complex.
He said Duterte will likewise question why the hearing scheduled today was cancelled without prior notice.
“PRRD (Duterte) and I will go to Batasang Pambansa (Wednesday) at 10:00 am and confront the quad committee members why, after demanding his presence and accepting their invitation and coming here last night (Monday night), they will just cancel it without prior notice,” he said in a message to reporters.
The quad committee cancelled the hearing scheduled this morning and reset it to Thursday next week, November 21.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, overall chair of the joint panel, yesterday said the chairmen decided to postpone the hearing as early as last Monday, even before Duterte announced that was attending it.
Barbers said the former president did not notify the joint committee that he had a change of heart and was planning to attend the hearing.
He noted that Duterte’s legal counsel, Martin Delgra III, had earlier said the former chief executive found his participation in the hearing unnecessary since he has nothing more to add to his testimonies before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee last October 28.
Delgra had also told lawmakers that Duterte was hesitant about attending he House probe because was doubtful about the integrity and independence of the panel.
Likewise, Delgra said Duterte said that going to Metro Manila was too costly for him.
RESET
“Well, if there is a confirmation like that, we will have to make do with the witnesses that we have already interviewed. But we did not receive any confirmation. So that’s why we decided yesterday (Monday) that we have to cancel it,” Barbers told a joint press conference with fellow House leaders as he explained why the hearing scheduled this morning was postponed.
Barbers said the joint panel moved the hearing to November 21 as the chairmen needed more time to interview and vet the new witnesses who will be presented to them.
“Wala pong naduduwag dito (No one is chickening out here),” Barbers said, adding the cancellation was reached Monday and was relayed to resource persons as early as 6:42 p.m. as shown in e-mails sent by the committee secretariat to resource persons, including Duterte who was notified by the panel in a letter.
The panel, at exactly 10:53 p.m., also sent an e-mail to Delgra III, who was among the invited resource persons, notifying him that today’s hearing was cancelled.
Barbers said Delgra acknowledged receipt of the notice at 7:14 a.m. yesterday.
“Ganito po para malinaw: Sa (Nov.) 21 po mayroon kaming hearing. Yan ho, punta ho tayo dito. Pagtapos ng 21, let us know kung kelan kayo pupwede because we will schedule another quad comm hearing on the date convenient for you, on the date na gusto ninyo (Just to be clear: On Nov. 21 we will have a hearing. Please attend this one. After the 21st, let us know when you are available to attend because we will schedule another quad comm hearing on the date convenient for you, on the date that you prefer),” Barbers said addressing Duterte.
‘WE DON’T LISTEN TO VLOGGERS’
Barbers said pro-Duterte bloggers and vloggers were the ones who announced in social media on Monday night that the former president was ready to attend the Wednesday hearing and not Delgra, who has been officially communicating with the joint panel.
“Wala ho kaming natatanggap hanggang sa ngayon. Ang nakikita lang namin yung mga vloggers. Hindi ho namin pinakikinggan mga vloggers (We have not received any confirmation of his attendance until now. What we saw were the vloggers. We don’t listen to vloggers),” he said.
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun dismissed Duterte’s plan to attend as part of his usual “propaganda.”
“Kung wala naman talagang direct statement ang ating former President na darating siya (bukas), tingin namin propaganda lang ‘yung lumalabas sa internet, sa social media, na darating siya (If our former President really does not have a direct statement that he’ll attend, we think what came out on the internet, social media, was just propaganda),” he told the same press conference.
“Talagang propaganda lang ginagawa nila, lalong-lalo na pag sinasabi nilang pag-attend sa committee hearing ng quad comm. Talagang nabubudul-budol ang ating mga mamamayan (What they’re doing is really just propaganda, especially when they say they’ll attend the quad comm hearing. Our people are being duped),” he added.
Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernadez, a co-chair of the quad comm, agreed, saying he believes that the flip-flopping statements coming from Duterte’s camp “was intentional.”
“Yun ‘yung style nila to make it appear na tayo yung umaatras sa ganitong klaseng invitation (That’s they style to make it appear that we’re backing out from this kind of invitation), whereas we’ve been asking him (to attend) for so many hearings already,” he said.
Fernandez said Duterte’s supporters suddenly announced that he was attending the hearing at the time when the chairmen were discussing its possible cancellation.
“And now that there is already a decision from the quad comm to cancel it, then suddenly they will appear,” he said.
Congressmen have been wanting Duterte to confront former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, a former police lieutenant colonel, who testified about the drug war reward system, claiming that cash incentives were provided to personnel who eliminated suspected drug offenders.
Garma has also previously accused Duterte of spearheading in May 2016 the nationwide expansion of the alleged “Davao model,” which encouraged the killing of drug suspects in exchange for cash.
MEETING WITH VICTIMS
Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) said Duterte will meet face-to-face with the families and relatives of victims of summary executions under his administration if he will come to the House of Representatives today because there is a Holy Mass scheduled at 9 a.m. for the victims of the war on drugs.
“Malinaw po na wala siyang schedule dito. Wala pong naka-schedule na hearing, ang naka-schedule lamang ay isang makabuluhang misa para sa mga biktima ng war on drugs (It’s clear that he doesn’t have a schedule here. There is no hearing scheduled, the only one scheduled is a meaningful Mass for the victims of the war on drugs),” she told a press conference.
Brosas slammed Duterte’s planned “publicity stunt” at the House, saying he will be “hogging the limelight when it is the voices of the victims of the war on drugs that should be heard.”
