UNFAIR
IT is unfair for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to accuse Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez of being behind the Quad Comm joint inquiry into illegal drugs, illicit Philippine offshore gambling operations (POGOs) and extra-judicial killings, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez said.
Dela Rosa made the allegation a day after Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido revealed in a Quad Comm hearing what many Filipinos had long suspected: that the administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte and the Philippine National Police leadership under its chief General Dela Rosa had set a “kill” quota and a reward system for policemen in implementing its brutal war on drugs.
Espenido claimed that the reward system was funded with hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, in intelligence funds and money from jueteng, small-town lotteries and illegal POGOs, and that the funds were disbursed from the level of Duterte close aide and now Senator Bong Go.
Dela Rosa expressed fears evidence that comes up in the Quad Comm inquiry may be used against him and Duterte in the International Criminal Court.
In a television interview, Fernandez, one of the four joint co-chairmen of Quad Comm as head of the committee on public order and safety, said Dela Rosa’s accusation against Speaker Romualdez “is so unfair to the Speaker.”
“So kung i-accuse nila si Speaker na binuo namin ito or nangyari ito dahil sa utos ng Speaker, that is so unfair. And ako mismo, hindi ako papayag na gamitin ako para sa isang political agenda,” he said.
He said no one in the House could dictate on its members.
“After all, I’m not running for any higher position, I mean sa national, but hindi naman ito makaka-apekto sa amin (sa lokal). That’s the reason why nang binabanggit na may politika, may utos si Speaker, eh ako alam mo 300 plus kami mga congressmen do’n and they can never dictate on us,” he added.
Fernandez pointed out that testimonial and documentary evidence that surfaces in the course of the four-committee joint inquiry could not be tampered with, and witnesses could not be coached on what to say or not say.
“Especially kapag ‘yung mga ebidensya ay lulutuin namin para lang to cater on certain personalities like the Speaker, eh mahirap ‘yon. What if ‘yon mga kinakausap namin biglang magsalita doon sa hearing? That will put us in a precarious position,” he stressed.
“Ako, personally I don’t want that to happen to me. Because alam mo ang mga resource persons, hindi mo ‘yan sila makakapa. At hindi mo ‘yan sila pwedeng diktahan, kung didiktahan mo man, or kung babayaran mo man yan, what if biglang bumalik na ‘yan? So kaya ako, very particular ako dyan,” he said.
He said he and his joint panel chairmen are making sure that their hearings are transparent.
“I make it sure that it will be transparent, that’s the reason why I told the committee no’n pa, na sinabi ko na, sa committee ko pa, sa public order, sinabi ko sa mga members na laging uma-attend…I want to be transparent because at the end of the day, kapag ikaw may sinabi sila against you, kumbaga para bang we have to be transparent. Otherwise, baka mabaligtad ka pagdating nang huli,” he said.
In addition to Fernandez’s committee, Quad Comm is composed of the committee on dangerous drugs headed by lead panel chairman Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, committee on human rights chaired by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. and the committee on public accounts led by Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Joseph Paduano.
In his TV interview, Fernandez recounted how the separate investigations of the four committees into illegal drugs, illicit POGOs, extra-judicial killings, and human rights violations morphed into a unified, comprehensive inquiry.
He said even before Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. delivered a privilege speech last Aug. 5 calling for a joint inquiries, he, Barbers and Abante were already thinking of combining their separate probes into interconnected issues.
“The reason why we created this quad-comm, prior to the privilege speech of SDS (Gonzales), nag-uusap-uusap na kaming mga chairman. Ako, I was talking with Chairman Abante, sabi ko, ‘brother parang may link ‘yan do’n sa hini-hear ko do’n sa mga kapulisan natin’. And even sa dangerous drugs, na nag-appear ‘yong pangalan ni Michael (Yang), sabi ko kay Chairman Ace (Barbers), pare parang ‘yong dinidiscuss mo doon, parang lumalabas ko din do’n sa discussion ko din sa POGO,” he recalled.
“Kaya ‘yon ‘yong nag-trigger and then we talked to SDS sabi namin — kasi si SDS, siya ‘yong naging author noong sa Mexico, Pampanga. Kung natatandaan nyo, mayroon doon nahuling P3.6 billion worth of shabu doon sa (property na) pag-aari ng Aedy Yang. Siya ang nag-author, so sinabi rin namin kay SDS, ‘oo nga, bakit ganoon?’ So doon nabuo ‘yon,” he said.
He said Gonzales then told them of his plan to deliver a privilege speech calling for a unified inquiry.
“Sabi ni SDS, ‘sige i-privilege speech ko ito tapos tingnan natin kung papayag ang plenary para mabuo natin yung Quadcom para hindi na kung saan-saan tayo pumupunta na hearing’,” he said.
After Gonzales delivered his speech, the House, in plenary session, approved his proposal to combine the separate inquiries being conducted then by the four committees. Thus, Quad Comm was born.
The joint panel has so far conducted three hearings during which witnesses gave explosive testimonies on extra-judicial killings, human rights abuses and the reward system for attaining “kill” or “neutralization” targets.
