Invitation for Bato to attend EJK hearing stands

The quad committee in the House Representatives affirmed on Monday that they would seek Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa's participation in its probe into the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the Duterte administration despite his resistance to attend hearings.

Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers -- who chairs the Committee on Dangerous Drugs that comprised the multi-panel -- said that they would adopt the initial action of the Committee on Human Rights, also a member of the quad com, to invite Dela Rosa to shed light on issues on purported crime against humanity committed during the previous administration's drug war.

The senator was Duterte's former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, who led the implementation of the bloody anti-drug campaign, allegedly killing more than 7,000 people.

"Since all the activities and rulings of the chair of the committee on human rights [have] been forwarded to the quad com, we will take cognizance of the actions taken by the committee chair. To answer your query, yes, the invitation still stands," said Barbers in response to Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel.

The human rights panel, chaired by Manila Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr., had previously invited Duterte and Dela Rosa, but the two persistently ignored it, contending that the congressional hearing was not the proper forum to address EJK allegations.

Dela Rosa also cited the inter-parliamentary courtesy -- a long-standing tradition in Congress where members of both chambers accord each other respect and do not meddle in each other's affairs -- to justify his non-participation in the House inquiry.

Manuel countered that Dela Rosa should not invoke inter-parliamentary courtesy when he himself violated such principle when he invited him and former Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago to a Senate inquiry into cases of alleged recruitment of missing minors being allegedly recruited by militant groups.

"If a member of the House can go to the Senate to attend investigations, what exempts a senator from coming here to us to answer our questions?" Manuel asked.

"What he does Mr. chair are all kinds of diversions. He even used the platform of the Senate as well as the resources of the people Mr. chair for his diversions not attending here," he said in Filipino.

Apart from De la Rosa, Manuel asserted that the top police officers during Duterte's tenure must be summoned to attend the congressional probe.

"[Let's] admit that the drug war of the past administration was fake. The killing of the poor was used to cover up those who were on other lines of the drug trade. That's how the scheme worked that's why we didn't know the big names [involved] in the drug war," Manuel said in the vernacular.

Formed last week, Barbers' and Abante's panel—along with the Committee on Public Order and Safety, headed by Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, and the Committee on Public Accounts, led by Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Caraps Paduano—aims to rigorously scrutinize the interconnected issues between the proliferation of illegal drug trade, human rights violations, and criminal activities in POGO, which they claimed flourished during the Duterte administration.

Duterte is being implicated in the POGO scandal owing to his issuance in February 2017 of Executive Order 13, regulating and licensing gambling and online gaming facilities in the country, which lawmakers believe has opened the doors for illegal POGOs.

Duterte's former economic adviser, Michael Yang, is also accused of having a hand in the P3.5 billion shabu that was seized in September last year in a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, in which his "associate" Lincoln Ong was found to be an incorporator of a company with links to Empire 999 Realty Corporation, which owns the warehouse.

Apart from Yang, several Chinese nationals are suspected of being behind illegal POGOs and the drug shipment seized in Mexico town.

None of the Chinese suspects, including Yang, had appeared before the House, which resulted in their arrest. However, authorities have yet to locate their whereabouts. They are suspected to have fled to the country.