President Rodrigo Duterte attends the "Salamat PRRD" thanksgiving concert at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on June 26, 2022. Valerie Escalera, Presidential Photo

MANILA — House Quad Committee Lead Co-Chairperson Rep. Robert Ace Barbers is planning to propose that the Senate and the House of Representatives jointly investigate the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

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He said this will pave the way for a more comprehensive and “impartial” probe into the issue. 

“Kung mayroon ang Senate, mayroon din ang House, bakit hindi na lang natin pag-isahin? Parang bicam ang dating. Isang joint committee hearing. Nandyan ang Kongreso, nandyan ang Senado at nandyan ang ating imbestigasyon. So, I think mas malawak, mas komprehensibo, at mas maraming intelligent questions ang maitatanong ng mga myembro ng committee,” Barbers said. 

House Committee on Public Order and Safety Chairperson Rep. Dan Fernandez supports Barbers’ proposal. 

“Mas maganda para mapabilis ang ating kilos ay magsama na ang Senado at ang Kongreso,” he said.

INVITATION FOR DUTERTE

The House Quad Committee has invited former President Rodrigo Duterte to attend its hearing on Tuesday. 

But in a letter addressed to Barbers, Duterte’s counsel, Atty. Martin Delgra III, said his client will not be able to attend on Tuesday and requested to defer his appearance before the Quad Comm “preferably after November 1”.

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“Despite his keen intention to attend, my client respectfully manifests that he cannot attend the public hearing set on 22 October 2024,” Delgra said.

“Aside from the short notice given him, my client just arrived in Davao from Metro Manila last 17 October 2024. Considering his advanced age and the several engagements he had to attend, he is currently not feeling well and is in need of much rest,” he added.

“Rest assured of my client’s willingness to appear before the House of Representatives on some other available date, preferably after 01 November 2024,” Delgra noted. 

Former Palace legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the panel's notice was "too short."

"The notice is too short. He just arrived in Davao from Manila. He needs to rest... The committee should give him sufficient time. He has previous engagements that could conflict with the scheduled hearing. He has also to get the  nod of his attending doctor if it is ok for him travel," Panelo said.

Asked whether Duterte will be spared from being cited in contempt if the Quad Comm finds his answers unresponsive, Co-Chair Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano gave no assurances, but said he will be afforded courtesy.

"The committee, personally, I cannot assure that. It’s up to him to be present tomorrow. And it’s up to his answers, and his actuations during the hearing. Hindi ko pwedeng pangunahan ang dating Pangulo. Let us see what will happen tomorrow. But one thing is for sure. We will afford him the due courtesy his office should be afforded,” Paduano explained.

ILLEGAL ACQUISITION?

The House Quad Comm, meanwhile, called on the Office of the Solicitor General on Monday to probe the alleged illegal acquisition of properties by Chinese nationals for possible civil forfeiture proceedings, as it turned over on Monday documents pertaining to particular cases in Pampanga.

They said these Chinese nationals acquired fraudulent Filipino citizenship for the purpose of securing landholdings and establishing businesses in the Philippines.

“These activities are in clear violation of our laws and require immediate executive action,” Barbers said. 

He noted that the documents turned over to the OSG involve around 300 land titles covering a total of “thousands of hectares”. Among the alleged Chinese nationals mentioned in the documents are Aedy Tai Yang and Willy Ong, who are incorporators of Empire 999, which allegedly owns the warehouse where the the P3.6 billion worth of shabu was seized by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency last September 2023. Tony Yang, the brother of Duterte’s former economic adviser Michael Yang, was also mentioned, according to Barbers. 

“Gumamit sila ng peke at mga spurious na dokumento na nagpapatunay na sila ay mga Filipino, until we have discovered na sila po ay mga Chinese nationals,” Barbers said. 

The OSG gave assurances that it will look into the status of the properties and file the necessary actions.

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