November 12, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte is ready to fly back to Manila to face his accusers at the House quad committee hearing tomorrow.
“Let’s do it!” Duterte reportedly told his former executive secretary, Salvador Medialdea.
The 79-year-old Duterte is flying in from his retirement house in Davao City, a source from his camp told The STAR last night.
“They will be surprised,” the source said, referring to the quad committee.
“But since you’re going to report it, hindi na surprise,” the source, who asked not to be named, quipped. “He is ready on Wednesday.”
The former president will undergo an undisclosed “medical procedure” to clear him for the flight to Manila, although the source quoted Duterte as saying: “Kaya ko yan. Utak naman gagamitin ko, hindi naman katawan (I can handle it. I’ll be using my brain anyway, not my body).”
Called “fPRRD” by his supporters – for former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte – he previously sent word through his lawyer that he would not attend the quad comm hearing, citing the lack of integrity and probity of certain congressmen he did not identify.
The lawyer had also claimed that certain witnesses were “pressured” to testify that they have personal knowledge of the involvement of the former president in the alleged extrajudicial killings while he was Davao City mayor and during his presidency from 2016 to 2022.
Duterte let EJK cops down
Meanwhile, leaders of the House of Representatives said yesterday that Duterte abandoned the police officers who carried out his brutal war on drugs and are now facing either murder or administrative charges.
Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairman of the House committee on public safety and order, and House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre issued the state- ment after Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil lamented the plight of these police officers.
“Walk the talk. It seems that these were all just lip service. You hear phrases like ‘I’ll take care of you.’ But in reality, these policemen who killed these drug victims in the name of Duterte’s war against drugs were left to fend for themselves,” Acidre, from Tingog party-list, pointed out.
He said Duterte has the propensity to repeat “the same empty promise every opportunity he gets.”
Acidre noted that the last time the former president made such statement was on Oct. 28, when he testified before the Senate, where he declared that he alone should be held legally and morally responsible for his brutal drug war.
“He should tell that to the International Criminal Court. Let us see what happens,” he said.
Fernandez, co-chairman of the House quad committee, said Duterte had repeatedly committed to provide lawyers to PNP personnel who implemented his anti-drug campaign, which unfortunately resulted in massive extrajudicial killings.
“It seems the promises were broken. It turned out to be mere drawings. He’s been so used to this budol-budol (deceit) and, ironically, all of these policemen fell prey to these empty promises. And they themselves have been victims of this budol-budol,” said Fernandez, who represents the lone district of Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
‘Marcos better than Duterte’
Fernandez said that President Marcos, as it turned out, is better than his predecessor.
“President Marcos made pro- nouncements that a legal team will be formed by the PNP for purposes of giving legal assistance to these cops facing charges,” Fer- nandez said.
Marbil disclosed that based on PNP data, 1,286 officers have been affected by anti-narcotics operations of Duterte from July 2016 to June 2022, when he stepped down after serving his full six-year term.
Of this figure, 312 have been killed while 974 were injured.
On top of this, Marbil also re- vealed 214 personnel are now facing 352 criminal cases related to their work, while 195 officers were sacked and 398 face dismissal from the police service.
Over 20 policemen remain in detention as part of cases related to the drug war’s enforcement.
“Several police officers en- dured not only physical harm, but also found themselves en- tangled in legal and administra- tive challenges. The numbers remind us that the impact of the anti-drug campaign was deeply felt by our police as well,” Marbil added.
The PNP chief said the affected personnel “carried out their re- sponsibilities with dedication and often faced considerable risks to ensure public safety.” – Delon Porcalla
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