Duterte arrives at Batasan for QuadComm hearing

Former President Rodrigo Duterte arrived at the Batasang Pambansa Complex on Wednesday morning to attend the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) into his administration's war on drugs.

The hearing is set to start at 10 a.m.

The QuadComm previously announced the postponement of the November 13 hearing amid the ongoing verification of witnesses' testimonies. 

But in a notice dated November 12, QuadComm chair and Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers said the hearing would push through in its original schedule.  

Duterte's war on drugs has been blamed for thousands of deaths, including extrajudicial killings, during his six-year rule as president. He is now under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The erstwhile Philippine leader was accompanied upon his arrival at Batasang Pambansa Complex by his former spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Panelo, and former Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III, who served under his administration. 

“[Former] President Duterte called me, and he asked me to come with him here in the House of Representatives. [Sabi niya] pumunta ako para bigyan ko ng paggalang ang institusyon, para ipakita sa kanila na may sarili akong salita,” Panelo told reporters.

(He came here because he respects the institution and to show that he can speak for himself.)

“Dahil kinukulit siya at kinakantiyawan siya, para matigil na iyong mga haka-haka, akusasyon, eh andito na siya,” Panelo added.

(He is being bugged about it, so he's here to end speculations and address allegations.)

Panelo also said Duterte, who resides in Davao City, arrived in  Manila on Monday night.

Duterte previously appeared before a Senate hearing where he admitted to having a "death squad" and to killing people "for a long time."

Panelo, however, maintained that Duterte did not make incriminating statements to this day.

“He did not make any incriminating statements. The so-called extrajudicial confessions made by him allegedly exist only in the minds of the detractors and those who cannot understand him,” he said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News