Former President Rodrigo Duterte has filed his certificate of candidacy to run for mayor of Davao City. (Photo from Senator Bong Go’s Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez tells former President Rodrigo Duterte that members of the House of Representatives’ quad committee ask intelligent questions.
His statement comes amid hints from the former leader that he might attend future hearings.
In a briefing on Thursday at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Gutierrez was asked about Duterte’s statements after filing his certificate of candidacy for Davao City mayor.
The former president had said he is willing to appear at the quad committee, if invited.
Gutierrez however believes Duterte is not yet directly linked to topics investigated by the quad committee — despite his name being mentioned several times, particularly in discussing alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
“I would like to think… maybe this is not being biased, but I would like to think that the questions of our co-members in the committee are educated,” Gutierrez said.
“Well, I think it would be very important when the time is right. That’s why I… we really welcome the forthrightness and eagerness to attend […],” he noted.
“Although the name (Duterte) has been mentioned every now and then, if you see, he seems to be far away from it. He was just mentioned from the bottom level straight up to the top,” the lawmaker observed.
According to Gutierrez, the quad committee has been meticulously probing the three issues involved — which is why the mere mention of names does not mean that they are prejudiced.
“So I think what you’d notice with the quad, what we’re trying to uncover, we can really see that we don’t involve people in accusations just because the names were mentioned, that we see them as involved,” Gutierrez explained.
“We try to establish the base first. I think that’s why with this quad hearing, we expect first to fully thresh the issues on the ground,” he said.
“And maybe, if that is established, if we can see what really happened, and there is still a linkage to the top officials that were mentioned, then, perhaps the quad will decide to invite them,” the lawmaker said.
“But as far as it stands right now, even the average viewer or average citizen would still not see the link that would elicit an invitation,” he added.
The quad committee has unearthed different new information regarding 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 retired police colonel and National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo contacted him about operating 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 the operation would bode well for his career.
Mendoza said Leonardo sent him a synopsis that would show how Barayuga, a former police general and member of the Philippine Military Academy Matikas Class of 1983, was supposedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
But when the former said he would conduct his own study, Leonardo supposedly said that the hit 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 office in Mandaluyong, with Garma sending a photo of the late board secretary.
Leonardo and Garma are two officials believed to have close ties to Duterte.
READ: Napolcom’s Leonardo, Garma tagged in killing of PCSO’s Barayuga
In a separate hearing, an inmate claimed that Duterte himself ordered the hit on three Chinese 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 (BuCor) official S/Supt. Gerardo Padilla talked with Duterte over the phone after the crime was carried out — with the former president even congratulating 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
While Duterte has earned praise as his administration focused on the country’s drug problem, he was also criticized for leading a bloody war against illegal drugs.
Currently, several cases have been filed against Duterte and his officials before the International Criminal Court for allegedly committing the crime against humanity of mass murder.
READ: Duterte, 11 others accused of crimes against humanity before ICC