MANILA, Philippines -- Officials of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will face off Tuesday when the House of Representatives begins its investigation into the bribery try involving three drug suspects of wealthy families.

The inquiry is scheduled at 10 a.m.

Ilocos Norte Representative Roque Ablan Jr., chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs, said the investigation sought to shed light on the alleged attempt to bribe the anti-narcotics group and would look into other drug cases that were dismissed by various courts.

It will also be the first time that DOJ and PDEA officials will confront each other over the issue. 

Major Ferdinand Marcelino, head of PDEA's Special Enforcement Service, identified Justice undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor as the official who had called him to follow up on the release of the suspects, who have since been dubbed by media as the "Alabang Boys."

Marcelino characterized the call as a "form of pressure," although Blancaflor countered that his action last December 19 was just a form of "public assistance."

Among those invited to the inquiry are Blancaflor, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, PDEA director Dionisio Santiago, agents of PDEA and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the parents of Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, and Joseph Tecson--the three drug suspects.

Marcelino's men arrested Brodett, Joseph, and Tecson on September 20 in Ayala-Alabang, Muntinlupa, and Araneta Avenue in Quezon City for possession of Ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana.

PDEA claimed it had received information that P50 million had "changed hands," resulting in a recommendation by state prosecutors to dismiss the case against Brodett, Joseph, and Tecson.

Three bribe offers, ranging from P20 million to P32 million, were also made to Marcelino in exchange for the release of the suspects, the agency claimed, which the families of the three denied.

On December 2, Zuño signed a resolution ordering the release of the three suspects, citing among other reasons their illegal arrest and search. But the three could not be freed because the resolution was under review.

Cebu Representative Antonio Cuenco, vice chairman of the committee, said the inquiry would give the chance to the accusers "to substantiate the case of bribery and present solid evidence to fortify or buttress their allegations."

"We will find out who is telling the truth and who's telling a lie. Liars will go to jail," he told reporters in an interview.

Ablan and Cuenco organized a meeting with Santiago and NBI officials Monday in a restaurant in Quezon City to discuss the proceedings during the inquiry.

Representatives Roilo Golez and Eduardo Zialcita, both of Parañaque, and Jose Yap of Tarlac, also attended the meeting.

Yap said they requested the NBI and PDEA to submit before the committee an inventory of the drug cases and their status in various courts.

Golez said a study of the progress of the drug cases in the past five years would also determine how the judges were handling them and would show who the "hanging or dismissing judges" were.

Cuenco said that there have been reports that judges "have been dismissing indiscriminately" the drug cases before them.

In the Philippines, the rate of the conviction of drug cases is only 10 percent compared to 80 percent Australia, said Cuenco.

"Why is this so?" Cuenco said.

Zialcita said it would be important to find out if the dismissal of the case of the three suspects was an "isolated case or if this is happening all over."

Golez said they planned to hire three lawyers for the committee to follow up on the drug cases.

Cuenco added that he would also propose to increase the penalty for bribe-givers and bribe-takers from six years to 12 to 20 years.