Quad comm reschedules drug war probe to verify testimonies

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Barbers (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — The verification of so many testimonies from possible witnesses has led the House of Representatives’ quad committee to cancel its scheduled hearing on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs on Wednesday, panel officials said on Tuesday.

In a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex, quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that the chairpersons of the four panels have been contemplating since last week about the cancellation of the hearing.

Barbers, however,  said they only made a decision on Monday night, informing resource persons that the next hearing would be held on November 21 instead.

“The quad comm chairs have already been contemplating since last week to move the scheduled Wednesday quad comm hearing for several reasons, first reason, if you recall, we always say that if there are witnesses, we want them to execute affidavits.  Number two, even if they have executed their affidavits, we will have to vet them,” he said.

“And because there are so many resource persons, many want to testify, we think we really need to study whom we would invite for the discussions on extrajudicial killings, on the illegal drugs, and on Philippine offshore gaming operators […]  That’s why we decided yesterday that we would cancel our meeting, supposedly for tomorrow, November 13, to give us more time up to next Thursday to interview, to set up our agenda, and to finish all our interviews,” he added.

According to Barbers, there were instances wherein they had to place witnesses under a psychiatric test and a polygraph examination so that the quad committee members can ascertain if resource persons are telling the truth.

“Many really want to testify.  In fact, we reached a point where a resource person who wants to testify, after giving his or her affidavit, was asked to be examined by a psychiatrist, go through a polygraph test in Camp Crame so that we can ascertain if they are telling the truth,” Barbers said.

“It’s not easy to present witnesses […] That is the reason why we had to cancel,” he added.

Barbers’ clarification came after bloggers supportive of former president Rodrigo Duterte called out the quad committee for canceling its hearing just as the former leader was supposed to participate.

The blog of Mocha Uson, a former assistant secretary during the Duterte administration, even accused the quad committee of suddenly being afraid.

Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairperson of the House committee on public order and safety, meanwhile said that they can no longer resume the hearing because there has to be a three-day advance notice for invited guests to be informed of the schedule.

“Actually two days ago we decided about that, we talked with the chairman.  And then suddenly, just last night?  We saw that they (Duterte camp) would now attend.  Our problem is that we have already notified the resource persons, especially those from Cebu, the victims (about the cancellation).  And at the same time we are vetting witnesses from Isabela and I think one also from the north,” he said.

“But it’s hard to continue a hearing tomorrow because the pronouncement and the invitation to other resource persons have already been canceled,” he added.

Duterte has been invited several times to the quad committee hearings, but he did not show up last October 22, with his lawyer Martin Delgra III saying that the former president was not feeling well.

Delgra said Duterte would attend hearings conducted after November 1, but the former president again skipped the discussions as he doubted the integrity of the four panels as well as its “independence, and probity.”

Duterte’s drug war has been one of the major topics of the quad committee hearings, especially after revelations made by retired polic colonel Royina Garma, about the existence of a rewards system in the drug war.

According to Garma, Duterte called her in 2016 about the creation of a task force which will implement the so-called Davao template on a nationwide scale. 

The Davao template, Garma said, involved providing cash grants worth P20,000 to P1 million to cops who kill drug suspects.

Garma also claimed that the existence of the Davao Death Squad — a team that former president Duterte supposedly formed. 

At a Senate hearing last October 28, Duterte said he created a seven-man hit squad made up of gangsters when he was Davao City mayor, but eventually retracted it when senators asked for a clarification.