FILE PHOTO: Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. moves to invite former President Rodrigo Duterte to attend the House of Representatives quad-committee hearing so that the ex-sate leader’s side will be heard regarding the grave accusations of Leopoldo Tan, who is currently in jail for the killing of Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Lee, and Peter Wang inside the Davao Penal and Prison Farm. Tan claimed that Duterte ordered the hit on three Chinese nationals in August 2016. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FACEBOOK PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s attendance at the next hearing of the House quad-committee has been sought anew after a hitman claimed that he ordered the killing of three Chinese nationals in August 2016.
At the second hearing of the four-panel body on Thursday, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. asked that Duterte be invited to the next session so that his side will be heard regarding the grave accusations of Leopoldo Tan, who is currently in jail for the killing of Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Lee, and Peter Wang inside the Davao Penal and Prison Farm.
“In this light of these very serious and sensitive developments, may I move – in the interest of fairness – may I move to invite the former president to hear his side on this matter. I rest my case Mr. Chairman,” Gonzales said in his motion.
“There is a motion to invite the former president to shed light on the issue raised before this committee in the spirit of fairness. Is there any second? Duly seconded and hearing no objections, the motion is carried,” said Surigao del Norte 1st District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, presider of the quad-committee hearing.
Gonzales made the motion after he asked Tan to repeat the statements he uttered, as stated in his affidavit.
READ: Duterte ordered killing of 3 Chinese men in 2016, hitman claims
According to Tan, he and Fernando Magdadaro were hired to kill the three jailed Chinese nationals. Tan and Magdadaro are currently detained at the Philippine Military Academy’s Support Company.
Tan also claimed that Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official Supt. Gerardo Padilla talked to a “person” over the phone after the alleged kill order was carried out, and the person even congratulated the jail officer.
Tan identified the person who congratulated Padilla as former president Duterte.
“While we were walking to the Investigation Section, Supt. Padilla’s phone rang. I saw that he pressed his cellphone. I heard the person who called Supt. Padilla say ‘Congrats Supt. Padilla, job well done. But what was done was brutal, they turned it into blood soup’,” Tan said, reading his sworn affidavit before the quad-committee.
“I knew that Supt. Padilla was talking to President Duterte because his voice is familiar. After the call, Supt. Padilla told his colleagues: ‘The President called, he congratulated me.’ Because of what Supt. Padilla said, I was even more convinced that it was President Duterte who called,” he added.
Tan said they were promised money and freedom in exchange for killing the three Chinese nationals. Tan and Magdadaro were already inmates when allegedly hired to kill the foreigners.
READ: Fear, leadership issues prevented serious EJK probe – House lawmakers
INQUIRER.net has sought former president Duterte’s ex-officials – former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque – for the former state leader’s side.
Only Roque has responded, noting that hearings in Congress have no probative value.
“Res inter alios acta […] No probative value,” he said.
This is not the first time that a Duterte was named in the quad-committee hearings.
During the first quad-committee hearing on Aug. 16, former Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban claimed that undersecretary Benny Antiporda sent emissaries in 2018 to warn him that he would die if he tags Davao City 1st District Rep. Duterte, Atty. Manases Carpio – husband of incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte, and former economic adviser Michael Yang in the shipment of illegal drugs in 2018.
Rep. Duterte and Antiporda have separately denied Guban’s accusations. According to Rep. Duterte, he has never met Guban, adding that the ex-BOC official cannot be treated as a star witness as he is not credible, having been cited for contempt for lying at the Senate blue ribbon committee.