Ex-Pres. Duterte to confront QuadComm over drug war probe postponement

Former President Rodrigo Duterte will go to Batasang Pambansa on Wednesday to confront the House Quad Committee about the postponement of the November 13 probe on the drug war during his administration, his former spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Tuesday.

“Former President Duterte and I will go to Batasang Pambansa tomorrow at 10 a.m. and confront the Quad Committee members why, after demanding his presence and accepting their invitation, and coming here last night, they will just cancel it without prior notice,” Panelo told reporters in a Viber message.

“He will ask them to schedule a marathon hearing of 10 days,” he added.

House Quad Comm lead chairperson Ace Barbers earlier said the panel rescheduled the probe from November 13 to November 21 since the committee is still evaluating the credibility of the witnesses.

“We want our witnesses to issue affidavits and after they executed their affidavits, we need to vet them. Because a lot of people want to testify before the Quad Comm, we deemed it best to evaluate, interview the witnesses first, see who is credible,” Barbers said in a press conference.

“And that would take a lot of time,” he added.

The mega panel has a standing invitation for Duterte to face the Quad Comm inquiry, where former police colonel Royina Garma and two persons deprived of liberty accused him of issuing kill order on suspected and convicted drug personalities with corresponding bounty for police officials who executed the order.

The former president earlier said he will face the Quad Comm probe after November 1, but he later changed his mind and said he has nothing more to say since he already testified in the Senate.

Likewise, Duterte said the Quad Comm does not have integrity and has already pre-judged him.

During his Senate appearance, Duterte said he has been killing for quite a while now and has a death squad.—AOL, GMA Integrated News