(Photo screen grab via Facebook Live of the House of Representatives)
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Durerte had a sudden outburst Wednesday over Gabriela Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas’ line of questioning regarding his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
During a hearing of the quad committee in the House of Representatives, Brosas asked Duterte about his statement of taking “full legal, moral responsibility” for his anti-drug campaign.
“He said full responsibility. Is that true?” the lawmaker asked, referring to the former president’s remarks during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe into the drug war.
“Correct. Very correct since I was the president, until now, serious about drugs,” Duterte immediately responded.
“All that happened – yung nangyari pursuant to my order to stop the drug problem in this country, akin ‘yon. Ako ang nagbigay ng order. Ginawa nila illegal o legal, akin yon. I take full responsibility for it,” he told lawmakers.
(All that happened – all those that happened pursuant to my order to stop the drug problem in this country, that’s mine. I gave the order. They did it illegally or legally, that’s mine. I take full responsibility for it.)
Brosas then pressed further, asking if he was also responsible for the innocent lives lost due to his drug campaign.
“File a case in court. The court is there,” he replied.
Brosas then asked if it was right to call his “policy” a Davao “model.”
“I cannot control the semantics…” Duterte said.
“Yes or no, Davao style?” Brosas cut him off.
“Do not ask me to answer yes or no. You are not an investigator!” Duterte responded angrily.
The lawmaker then pointed out that they were conducting a probe, which further agitated Duterte.
“Yes, but you are not an investigator! Why are you asking me to answer yes or no?” he said.
To prevent the tension from escalating, Rep. Robert Ace Barbers suspended the hearing for a few minutes.
In previous hearings, retired police Col. Royina Garma alleged that Duterte and other high-ranking officials during his administration sanctioned covert operations.
She said these activities replicated the “Davao City model” of extrajudicial killings on a national scale.
The Davao template, Garma said, involved providing cash incentives ranging from P20,000 to P1 million to police officers who killed drug suspects.
She also claimed that the existence of the Davao Death Squad—a team reportedly created by Duterte when he was Davao City mayor—was well known among police officers in the area.
On October 28, during a Senate briefing, Duterte confessed that he assembled a seven-man hit squad when he was Davao City mayor.