House quad comm hearings could reach 20th Congress – Abante

FILE PHOTO: Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Photo screengrab from House of Representatives YouTube livestream)

MANILA, Philippines — The hearings of the House of Representatives’ quad committee can reach the 20th Congress due to the magnitude of the issues being discussed, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said on Tuesday.

In an ambush interview after he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for reelection at the Commission on Elections – National Capital Region office, Abante said he has advocacies that he wants to continue, like health, education, and the quad panel.

The quad committee has been investigating the illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs, the illegal drug trade, and extrajudicial killings (EJK) in the Duterte administration’s drug war.

“Of course, the quad comm has not completed its investigation. By my third term, other lawmakers would have graduated already, so it might be reaching the 20th Congress because we need to talk about a lot of things,” Abante said in Filipino.

“The development is good,” he added.

According to Abante, they can terminate the discussions on Pogo soon, but talks about EJKs and the fight against illegal drugs would still take some time.

“Hopefully it will not reach the 20th Congress, because it’s tiring,” he added in Filipino.

The quad committee is expected to hold its eighth hearing on October 11.

According to Abante, the focus of the next hearing will be on EJKs, and the relatives of drug war victims from Cebu City and Barangay Batasan Hills in Quezon City are invited to the hearing.

The quad committee has unearthed new information on EJKs, like the sworn testimony from a police officer who admitted involvement in the killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.

During the most recent quad committee hearing, Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza said Napolcom Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo contacted him about a high-value drug target in the person of Barayuga.

According to Mendoza, he told Leonardo that he would think about the operation, but the Napolcom official said it would bode well for his career.

Mendoza also said Leonardo told him that the plan was to make it appear that Barayuga, a former police general, was supposedly involved in the illegal drug trade.

After Mendoza said he would study it first, Leonardo supposedly said the operation already had former PCSO general manager Royina Garma’s blessing.

When they were about to carry out the attack, Mendoza said Leonardo informed them that Barayuga was inside the PCSO building in Mandaluyong. Garma also sent a photo of Barayuga.

READ: Napolcom’s Leonardo, Garma tagged in killing of PCSO’s Barayuga 

In a separate hearing, an inmate claimed that former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the hit on three Chinese nationals inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in August 2016.

According to Leopoldo Tan, he and Fernando Magdadaro were hired to kill Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Lee, and Peter Wang.

Tan also claimed that Bureau of Corrections official S/Supt. Gerardo Padilla talked to Duterte over the phone after the hit was carried out, and Duterte even congratulated the jail officer.

READ: Duterte ordered killing of 3 Chinese men in 2016, hitman claims

Padilla initially denied involvement in the incident, but he eventually corroborated Tan’s testimony.

READ: Duterte ordered killing of Chinese inmates, BuCor exec confirms