House leaders: Duterte family should not fear probe on drug war, POGO crimes

The four House committees investigating the drug war deaths and crimes related to illegal drugs and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) on Monday denied that the inquiry is a political harassment against the Duterte family.

"We are committed to finding the truth based on evidence, not politics," Abang Lingkod party-list Representative Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano in a statement.

Paduano chairs the House Committee on Public Accounts, which is one of the four committees conducting the investigation. He issued the statement in response to Vice President Sara Duterte, who said the investigation is a political attack on her family.

"If the Dutertes have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear from our investigation. Our investigation is thorough and impartial. We follow the facts wherever they lead, and we won’t allow any distractions to derail our efforts," Paduano said.

During last week's hearing, former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban linked Vice President Duterte's husband Atty. Mans Carpio, her brother and Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte, and businessman Michael Yang to the P11 billion worth of illegal drug shipment that slipped into the country back in 2018. 

The camps of Carpio, Duterte and Yang all denied Guban’s accusations, with Carpio also saying the allegations are part of political attacks against them.

But Paduano said the Duterte family should address the allegations instead of "resorting to diversionary tactics."

House Committee on Public Order and Safety chairperson Dan Fernandez, for his part, said the House committees were simply following a trail of evidence.

"If there’s nothing to hide, there's no need to worry. Our mandate is clear: to uphold the law and ensure that justice is served. We will not be swayed by claims of harassment when the focus should be on the facts," he said.

Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said olitical harassment "has no place here; we are just doing our job. The truth is paramount."

On the other hand, House Committee on Human Rights Benny Abante said Vice President Duterte's words will not get in the way of the investigation.
 
"We won’t be deterred by claims of harassment. Our responsibility is to the Filipino people," he said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News