RPPe Historic quad-committee probe to invite ex-President Duterte, Sen. Bato to shed light on EJKs, POGOs

THE recently approved probe to be jointly conducted by four committees of the House of Representatives will invite former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sen. Bato dela Rosa to shed light on the extrajudicial killings during the former’s bloody anti-drug campaign and POGOs, along with other issues being investigated by the panels.

The chairmen of the four committees – Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Rep. Bienvenido Abante of the Committee on Human Rights, Rep. Dan Fernandez of the Committee on Public Order and Safety, and Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano of the House Committee on Public Accounts, including Rep. Romeo Acop joined Wednesday’s daily House media briefing.

According to Barbers, the so-called “quadcomm” probe is a historic one, and that the subject of each committee’s separate hearings are interconnected: the illegal drugs seized in Mexico, Pampanga, the EJKs during the Duterte anti-drug campaign, the POGOs and the involvement of public officials in all of these issues.

“It is historic in the sense that this is the first time it’s going to happen because mayroon pong urgent national issues that the House of Representatives is presently and currently addressing in the four committees that we are conducting hearings on,” Barbers said.

Asked whether the quadcomm will invite former President Duterte, Barbers said, “Yes, we will invite the former President to enlighten us on the issue of the war on drugs. Maybe he can shed some information that would be of help in the writing of the committee report, especially doon sa remedial legislation na plano namin maging produkto nito,”

“His expertise, his wisdom will be appreciated by the quadcomm. Kaya kailangan namin marinig sa kanya mismo,” he added. 

Abante said that there are many questions by committee members that only Duterte can answer.

“We invited the former president to come, and he didn't come … The thing is, even the other committee would want to invite the former president. Sapagkat siya lang ang makakasagot ng mga tanong na ito,” Abante said.

As an example, Duterte can address the inconsistencies in data about the true number of Filipinos who died in his bloody anti-drug campaign.

“At hindi lang ito. Na-find out din namin na may reward system. Saan nanggagaling ang pera na ibinibigay sa mga nakakapatay na mga pulis? Iyon ang tanong naming dito,” Abante said,

“Kaya’t sabi namin eh magkakasundo-sundo na kami para maimbitahan ang dating Pangulo para sagutin niya ang lahat ng mga bagay na ito. Because this concerns our national security at siya lamang ang makakasagot nito,” he added.

Abante also said that the hearing of the quadcomm will start on Aug. 15 and that they will also invite Sen. Dela Rosa to the probe.

“Iimbitahan din namin sapagkat kasama rin dito si Sen. Bato Dela Rosa. Iimbitahan namin siya. Now it’s up to him kung pupunta siya o hindi. Si Harry Roque, iimbitahan din namin siya. Lahat ng mga dati ng mga generals na involved, involved sa mga pagpatay during the war on drugs, iimbitahan din po namin,” Abante declared.

“By the way, we are not inviting him because he is a senator. We are inviting him because he used to be the Director General (of the PNP) in which libo-libo ang napatay,” he added.

Fernandez said they consolidated the four committees into one quadcomm probe as the issues they were investigating were interconnected.

“Talagang nakita namin na interconnected yung lahat ng mga issues. “And what is the primary objective doon sa ginagawa namin? To fast-track para at the same time makita natin yung mga gagawin nating mga batas and at the same time kung ano yung magiging recommendation nung apat na committees,” Fernandez said. 

“So basically, pinadadali po natin yung imbestigasyon and as a matter of fact, ‘yun po yung discussion with the Speaker. Para ng sa ganon ay makita po natin kung ano po talaga yung problema na kinahaharap ng ating bayan,” Fernandez said.

Paduano said the four committees decided to hold their investigation jointly as they had seen an overlap of data and personalities in their respective hearings.

“Kaya kailangan itong apat na committee na magkasama-sama kasi they are interlocking at data and personalities,” Paduano said.

“Nagko-connect-connect yung mga individuals kaya kailangan para magsalubong na lahat. Kasi kaya nga this investigation ng Committee on (Dangerous) Drugs … may lumalabas na mga pangalan in which those names na lumalabas is connected to POGO, is connected to drugs,” he added. 

“So that's why we asked the chairmen, including Chairman Acop, who asked the leadership na dapat i-consolidate na ito lahat, and the quadcom was created for this purpose.”

Acop is a vice-chairman of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs and on Public Order and Safety, and a member of the Committees on Human Rights and on Public Accounts, the four committees comprising the quadcomm.

“Sa lahat po ng hearing na na-attendan ko, dun sa apat na committee na ito, nakita ko na there are certain things or issues na intertwined with one another,” Acop, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, said.

“So, there came a point na kami na mga chairmen, nag-usap usap kasi nahihirapan kami na lumalabas sa isang committee yung isang issue, connected with other committees to such an extent na kailangan ilabas naming ulit doon sa committee,” he added.

“So ang nagyayari, hindi namin matagpi-tagpi yung mga information about common issues. So sabi ko, why don't we come up with a whole-of-nation approach? Magsama-sama na tayo para iisa na lang ang committee na hahawak sa lahat ng issues na intertwined with one another? Yun po ang nangyari,” Acop said. (END)