House quad-committee set to conduct first meeting on Aug. 12

Facade of the House of Representatives. | PHOTO: Official website of the House of Representatives / congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — The four House committees jointly probing illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo), the illegal drug trade, and human rights violations during the Duterte administration’s drug war are set to conduct their first organizational meeting on Monday, Aug. 12.

In a statement on Sunday, the office of Speaker Martin Romualdez said the committee on dangerous drugs, the public order and safety panel, the committee on public accounts, and the human rights panel are expected to discuss its ground rules.

The quad-committee will also discuss the following speeches and resolutions referred to them:

• Privilege speech of Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. calling for a joint investigation into pressing issues of extrajudicial killings, illegal drugs, and illegal activities last Aug. 5
• House Resolution No. 1346 geared at probing the P3.6-billion shabu seized in the town of Mexico, Pampanga, and the P1.3-billion shabu discovered in the city of Mabalacat, Pampanga.
• House Resolution No. 1351 calling for an investigation into the P3.8-billion shabu intercepted at the port of Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
• House Resolution No. 14 urging the Commission on Human Rights and the House committee on human rights to conduct, in aid of legislation, an investigation and review of the cases of slain victims of the war on drugs and all related atrocities.
• House Resolution No. 1847 urging the committee on human rights, the committee on dangerous drugs, and the committee on public order and safety to jointly conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, into the drug-related extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
• Privilege speech of Rep. France Castro on Nov. 8, 2023 about the alleged extrajudicial killings committed during the Duterte administration.
• Motu proprio inquiry on Pogo by the committee on public order and safety, and the committee on games and amusements.
• Motu proprio inquiry on alleged irregularities in the procurement process and unlawful contracts entered into by the town of Mexico, Pampanga, in violation of relevant auditing, procurement, and other laws to be conducted by the committee on public accounts.

The meeting will start with welcome remarks from Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the dangerous drugs committee.

Earlier, Barbers said the meeting would be held in Pampanga which, according to him, houses many witnesses relevant to the cases under investigation.

“And all those people we invited to the Pogo hearing, the likes of the mayor of Porac, the mayor of Bamban, and the acting mayor now, the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) personnel, the Pagcor officials, and some PNP (Philippine National Police) generals, including General (Romeo) Caramat. And we will also invite maybe General [Eleazar] Mata of PNP Drug Enforcement Group,” the lawmaker said.