Former President Rodrigo Duterte at the Senate hearing on the drug war on October 28, 2024. Photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives and the relatives of drug war victims are ready to face former President Rodrigo Duterte if he troops to the Batasang Pambansa complex on Wednesday, Makabayan bloc lawmakers said on Tuesday.

In a press briefing, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said there would be a Catholic mass for drug war victims on Wednesday morning even if the quad committee hearing on the drug war would not push through.

“And Duterte wants to be here and outshine the mass?” Brosas asked.

“It’s clear that Duterte is considering this serious investigation as a circus. He knows and he was formally informed that there is no hearing tomorrow. But he wants to be here to distract us. This is just another publicity stunt from the former president, who has repeatedly used this style,” she added.

In case Duterte and former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo would be present, Brosas said the lawmakers would be ready to face them.

“He wants to make it appear that the House is backing out of the investigation when it was he who has been avoiding true accountability. We encourage Duterte to respect the process, attend the correct date of the correct hearings, and answer the committee members’ questions,” Brosas said.

“He should stop the publicity stunt and eliciting the media’s attention but if he insists, then we face off.  The Makabayan bloc would not withdraw from that challenge,” she added in Filipino.

Her comments were in response to Panelo’s statement that Duterte would go to the Batasang Pambansa complex to confront the quad committee members for canceling the hearing, originally scheduled on November 13.

READ: Duterte to confront House for canceling hearing at last minute – Panelo

Duterte’s supporters claimed on social media that the former president was prepared to face the quad committee.

However, quad panel lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers explained that Duterte never confirmed that he was attending the hearing before they had decided to reschedule it to November 21.

Barbers also said they would have pushed through with the hearing if Duterte confirmed his attendance.  However, Duterte’s supporters took the rescheduling as a sign that the quad committee was afraid of facing the former president.

READ: Ex-president Duterte didn’t confirm quad comm probe attendance – Barbers

Castro believes this is just another bluff from Duterte.

“Well, what are you doing Mr. Duterte? Is this a bluff? Well, of course as Cong. Arlene said, we would not back down. We’re not afraid of you and the people are so tired of your drama,” she said.

“It’s clear that the people want you to be accountable for what happened in the war on drugs … You have been invited several times, but now you will go here to ask the quad committee to hasten your processes and hearings? Are you a congressman? Are you still in office?” she asked.

Revelations from former police officials, like retired colonel Royina Garma’s claims about the existence of a rewards system in the Duterte administration’s drug war, have bolstered lawmakers’ belief that there were irregularities in the operations.

According to Garma, Duterte called her in 2016 about the creation of a task force that would 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 killed drug suspects.

READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH

Garma also claimed that the Davao Death Squad, a team that Duterte supposedly crafted, was common knowledge among police officers in Davao.

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 he retracted his statement when senators asked for a clarification.

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