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MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives now has a permanent detention facility for persons cited for contempt and ordered arrested in the course of its congressional investigations.
The inauguration of the facility early this week, however, was met with a warning from an opposition lawmaker not to use it for political intimidation but only “in the service of truth-seeking.”
On Wednesday, the chamber’s secretary general Reginald Velasco and Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon Taas officially unveiled the House of Representatives Custodial Center (HCC) inside the building used by the Legislative Security Bureau at Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
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The HCC occupies two floors and consists of four dorm-like rooms that can accommodate four persons each or a total of 16 detainees.
Before the center was set up, the House had no officially designated space for persons cited for contempt and ordered detained, usually for refusal to “cooperate” during committee hearings or when their answers are deemed untruthful or evasive by the lawmakers.
‘Dignified condition’
“What we have now not only ensures a safe and secure detention facility but one where detainees could serve their detention orders in a dignified condition,” Taas said in a statement on the inauguration.
The new facility was announced as the House also reported that it had issued 37 contempt citations against uncooperative resource persons since the opening of the 19th Congress in July 2022.
The majority of the citations have been issued by the House committee on public accounts chaired by Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Paduano.
Sharing her views on the new facility, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said it “could be seen as a response to increasing challenges in compelling witnesses to testify truthfully in congressional inquiries.”
“What the construction of a separate detention facility in Congress portends to is that more and more witnesses or resource persons are determined to hide the truth. They must be compelled to reveal crucial information, especially regarding issues like the extrajudicial killings under the fake drug war of the Duterte administration and the Pogo (Philippine offshore gaming operators) controversy,” Castro explained.
But Castro, a member of the progressive Makabayan bloc, warned against its abuse. “While we recognize the need for such a facility, we must ensure that it is used solely for its intended purpose—to aid in legislation and uncover the truth. It should never be used as a tool for intimidation or political persecution.”
Limitations
The House derives its power to cite persons in contempt from Section 11 of the Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation of the 19th Congress.
Such persons are cited for “refusal without legal excuse to obey summons,” according to the rules.
In a decision issued in 2023, the Supreme Court said the congressional power to cite people in contempt “permits either [the House or the Senate] to perform its duties without impediment, as it enables [them] to legislate wisely or effectively because they have the power to compel the availability of information necessary in shaping legislation.”
But this power is subject to three limitations, according the high court: its use must be in “aid of legislation,” conducted according to duly published rules of procedure, and respectful of the rights of the persons concerned.
The detention must only last until the termination of the legislative inquiry, the court said.
Yang, Ong
The Supreme Court’s opinion on the matter was sought by the camp of Michael Yang, a former economic adviser to then President Rodrigo Duterte, and his translator Linconn Uy Ong, after they were cited for contempt and ordered arrested by the Senate. The Senate was then looking into the allegedly overpriced medical supplies procured by the government from the company Pharmally for the pandemic response
On July 10 this year, Yang and Ong were again cited for contempt and ordered arrested, this time by the House committee on dangerous drugs which was investigating the discovery of a cache of crystal meth (“shabu”) worth P3.6 billion in a warehouse in Pampanga.
The committee wanted to question Yang and Ong for their alleged connections to Empire 999 Realty Corp., the company that owns the warehouse.
At present, there are two persons in detention at Batasan: Daisy Quiros, a real estate broker ordered detained by Paduano last month; and Ronelyn Baterna, the corporate secretary of Pogo company Lucky South 99, who was cited for contempt by Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez on Aug. 7.
Other persons recently held in contempt—including Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. of San Simon, Pampanga, and his chief of staff Loreto Santos, who were being investigated for alleged misuse of public funds—were sent by the House in June to the Taguig City facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.