MANILA, Philippines- Hindi dadalo si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa imbestigasyon ng House of Representatives quad committee sa Nobyembre 7 probe sa war on drugs ng kanyang administrasyon, ayon sa kanyang abogado.
Sa isang liham na ipinadala sa opisina ni Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, inilahad oni Atty. Martin Delgra III na natanggap niya ang imbitasyon ng mega panel para sa kanyang kliyente noong Nobyembre 2.
Sa pagkonsulta sa kanyang kliyente, sinabi ni Delgra na pinili ni Duterte na huwag dumalo sa pagdinig, dahil duda umano ito sa integridad ng quad comm at “to save the time of the government time and taxpayer’s money” dahil nakadalo na ito sa pagdinig ng Senado sa parehong isyu.
Bagama’t nirerespeto at kinikilala ni Duterte ang “authority of the Honorable Committees to conduct inquiries, in aid of legislation,” sinabi ni Delgra na ang kanyang kliyente “is already doubtful” sa integridad ng mega panel maging sa “independence, and probity” nito.
“While my client’s attendance is supposedly for him to provide valuable insights and to shed light on issues under discussion particularly on extra-judicial killings, it is apparent that the inquiry is a mere political ploy aimed to indict him for crime or crimes he did not commit,” pahayag ni Delgra sa liham na ipinalabas sa media nitong Miyerkules.
Binanggit din niya ang posisyon nina Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. at Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez na dapat panagutin si Duterte “for the crime of willful killing under Section 6 of RepublicAct No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, even alleging that the facts are clear.”
“If that is indeed their belief, then the proper course of action would be for them to file the proper criminal cases against my client before the Department of Justice and for the latter to resolve whether probable cause exist or not. After all, we have a fully functioning judicial system in our country,” dagdag ni Delgra.
Kabilang din sa mga nabanggit na rason ni Delgra ang pagtatangka umano ng panel “to persuade, if not unduly pressure, resource persons to admit matters under oath they lack knowledge of or worst, unduly induce them to say something not true before the joint committee inquiry.”
Iginiit ng abogado na humarap na ang kanyang kliyente sa Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (subcommittee on the Philippine War on Illegal Drugs) noong Oktubre 28.
“In the said hearing which lasted for almost nine hours, my client extensively discussed and shared his knowledge as to the alleged extrajudicially killings during his administration,” ani Delgra.
“More importantly, he gave valuable inputs on how to strengthen the war on illegal drugs, a demonizing element and national menace,” patuloy niya. RNT/SA
