Former President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend the scheduled public hearing of the House Quad Committee on drug war killings tomorrow, November 7, citing concerns over the integrity and political motivations behind the inquiry, Duterte’s legal counsel Atty. Martin Delgra III said.
“Regrettably, upon consultation with him, my client respectfully manifests that while he respects and recognizes the authority of the Honorable Committees to conduct inquiries, in aid of legislation, he cannot attend the public hearing,” Delgra wrote in a letter sent to Congress on Tuesday, November 5 but was only shared to reporters on Wednesday, November 6.
“My client is already doubtful as to the Honorable House Quad Committee’s integrity, independence, and probity to conduct the legislative inquiry in aid of legislation. It is apparent that the inquiry is a mere political ploy aimed to indict him for crimes he did not commit,” Delgra added.
Delgra also pointed out that some committee members, including Co-Chairpersons Hon. Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Hon. Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez, had already publicly declared their stance that Duterte should be held accountable for “willful killing” under Republic Act No. 9851.
He added that Duterte questioned the committee’s intent, suggesting that if members genuinely believed in the allegations, they should pursue criminal charges in the proper judicial venues.
“My client is gravely concerned on how the Honorable House Quad Committee tried to persuade, if not unduly pressure, resource persons to admit matters under oath they lack knowledge of or worse, unduly induce them to say something not true before the joint committee inquiry,” Delgra said.
Furthermore, Delgra noted that Duterte had already shared his views on extrajudicial killings during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on October 28, 2024. In that session, which lasted nearly nine hours, Delgra insisted that Duterte provided valuable input on the war on illegal drugs, including recommendations for strengthening the fight against illegal substances.
He also suggested that the transcript of the Senate inquiry be made available to the House Quad Committee, as a more efficient alternative to his further participation.
“To save the government time and taxpayer’s money, we propose that the Transcript of Stenographic Notes of the Senate Inquiry conducted on October 28, 2024, be made available for their appreciation and consideration,” Delgra added.
During the Senate hearing, Duterte acknowledged the existence of a death squad and revealed that he had instructed police officials to provoke suspects into resisting arrest, giving the police justification to kill them.
The former president also remarked that he had been involved in killings for an extended period, expressing surprise that the Department of Justice had not yet filed charges against him.
Duterte, along with other high-ranking officials from his administration, is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity related to the systematic deaths of individuals in drug war operations during his presidency.
Police records indicate that around 6,000 deaths occurred, but human rights organizations argue that the actual number, including vigilante killings linked to Duterte’s policies, may have reached up to 30,000. (TCSP)
