ALLIES of President Marcos Jr. at the House of Representatives yesterday told former President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte to stop making “empty threats” against lawmakers who criticized him for snubbing the House quad committee’s hearings into the extrajudicial killings linked to his bloody war on drugs.
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega, a leader of the Young Guns bloc, said congressmen do not fear the former president, who earlier threatened to physically kick lawmakers who lambasted him for changing his mind about attending the joint panel’s hearing last Thursday.
“Don’t make empty threats. Please make no mistake: while we respect you, by no stretch of the imagination does this mean we’re afraid of you. Give us respect, too,” Ortega said.
“How can you kick us if you don’t physically attend the hearings? Be man enough to do it. I suppose you’re a man of your word,” he added.
Duterte has said traveling to Metro Manila from Davao is costly for him and he has nothing more to say to congressmen since he has already faced the Senate blue ribbon sub-committee chaired by Rep. Aquilino Pimentel III last October 28.
The former Chief Executive said congressmen do not intimidate him, especially since he had long been in the government before he was elected president in 2016.
Leaders of the quad committee yesterday offered to personally fund the former president’s airfare and accommodations, including those of his entourage, so he cannot use it as an excuse to evade the joint panel’s invitation.
“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,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the joint panel’s overall chairperson, said in a statement.
Sta. Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, also a co-chair of the joint panel, said: “The committee is willing to help in any way possible. We’re all ready to contribute personally if that’s what it takes. This is about accountability, not excuses.”
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, another quad comm co-chair, said the joint committee is “offering to remove every obstacle” to ensure Duterte’s attendance even if he has already said his presence is unnecessary.
“We’re even willing to ‘chip in’ if it means he can no longer avoid the inquiry. The victims’ families deserve the truth,” he said.
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, a vice chair of the quad comm, said they are willing to step in if covering the former president’s expenses “is what’s needed to get to the bottom of this” while Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales II said: “We’re willing to support Duterte’s travel and accommodations for him and his entourage if that’s what it takes. It’s our duty to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lingkod) said the former president seems to be afraid to face the quad comm after he snubbed the joint panel’s 10th hearing.
In a letter to the committee last month, Duterte’s lawyer Martin Delgra III has said his client was willing to attend the hearing after November 1. However, in another letter on November 5, Delgra said Duterte’s presence in the hearing is no longer necessary as he has already said everything when he faced the Senate panel last month.
Delgra, who has been invited by the joint panel to attend its next hearing on Wednesday, has also told congressmen that his client is doubtful about the fairness of the House joint committee in handling the legislative inquiry even if he had no qualms participating in the Senate hearing.
Ortega said Duterte should not be “afraid to face us in quad comm.” “You don’t have to worry, we will give you all the reasonable amount of respect you deserve being the former president. I, for one, will make that pledge in front of you and the nation if I have to,” he said.
“But this respect should be reciprocal: We will not, and we will never, allow you to bully us in our own House – the House of the (114-million-strong Filipino) People whom we are all representing, from the northernmost district to the southernmost district across the country. You are our guest so please act like one,” Ortega said.
He also reminded the ex-president that while more than 16 million Filipino voters installed him to Malacañang in 2016, his mandate has already expired after serving his full six-year term until June 2022.
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Konghun urged Duterte to stop making more excuses to avoid the House 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,” he 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,” Khonghun said. “Mr. FPRRD (Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte), please be reminded that while you still enjoy having Presidential Security Group personnel, you are now – for all intents and purposes – a civilian who no longer carries that mandate. So, please act like a statesman if you want to be respected.”
During the Senate inquiry, Duterte said that as Davao City mayor, he created a seven-man hit squad known as the Davao Death Squad (DDS) led by former PNP chiefs, including former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
While claiming that he did not directly order summary killings, Duterte stated that he instructed officers to provoke suspects to fight back, making it easier to justify their deaths.
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 reward system, claiming that cash incentives were provided to personnel who eliminated suspected drug offenders.
Garma 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.