Ex-president Duterte shows up at House quad comm drug war hearing

FILE PHOTO Former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Senate hearing last month on his administration’s war on drugs. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — After many rumors and barbs between him and the House of Representatives lawmakers, former president Rodrigo Duterte showed up at the quad committee’s drug war hearing on Wednesday — a meeting that was initially canceled, but eventually pushed through.

Duterte arrived at  9:57 a.m., at the Batasang Pambansa complex’s People’s Center.  He was accompanied by his former spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Panelo.

The hearing was initially canceled after the quad committee presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that they still have to review and verify and review testimonies.

However, Duterte’s social media supporters called out the quad committee, claiming that the ex-leader was prepared to face the four panels. 

Barbers said that Duterte never confirmed that he was attending before the quad committee leadership decided to reschedule the hearing.

But at around 2:56 a.m. on Wednesday, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said the hearing would now push through.

Duterte’s name has been mentioned several times in the quad committee hearings, due to the drug war he implemented while he was president. 

Retired police colonel Royina Garma backed the supposed existence of a rewards system in the drug war.

According to Garma, Duterte called her in 2016 about creating a task force to implement the so-called Davao template nationwide. 

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

Garma also claimed that the existence of the Davao Death Squad — a team that former president Duterte supposedly crafted while he was Davao City mayor — was common knowledge among police officers in the area.

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.