ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Government protection for quad-comm witnesses? Yes, says Libanan 

Government protection for quad-comm witnesses? Yes, says Libanan 

Published Oct 15, 2024 02:46 am

At A Glance

  • House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan is urging the government to provide "adequate protection and security" to key witnesses in the quad committee's ongoing probe into the past administration's controversial war on drugs that allegedly resulted to massive atrocities.

20241015_103835.jpgRoyina Garma (left), Kerwin Espinosa






 

 

 

 

 


A high-ranking congressman is prodding the Marcos administration to provide “adequate protection and security” to key witnesses in the quad-committee’s (quad-comm) ongoing probe into the past administration’s controversial war on drugs that allegedly resulted to massive atrocities. 

“There’s no question that witnesses such as retired police colonel Royina Garma and alleged drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa, and their loved ones, are now extremely vulnerable to potential reprisals, given that they have offered damning sworn statements against highly influential people,” House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said I'm a statement Tuesday, Oct. 15. 

“The appropriate agencies should safeguard resource persons or key witnesses who have offered testimonial evidence to the quad committee and who have clearly exposed themselves and their family members to grave danger,” Libanan said. 

“In fact, the provision of protective services to witnesses might even encourage, if not embolden, other individuals to come forward and  cooperate in the investigation,” he pointed out. 

The quad-comm refers to the special four-way panel in the House of Representatives that sought investigate, in aid if legislation, the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), extrajudicial killings (EJKs), money laundering, and the previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs. 

Libanan, a lawyer by profession, served as chairperson of the House Committee on Justice when he was representative of the Eastern Samar’s lone congressional district. 

 

ALSO READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/13/garma-s-revelations-on-Duterte-drug-war

Garma previously testified before the quad comm that the past administration adopted the “Davao model” in waging the war on drugs, where police officers involved in the EJKs of suspects received cash rewards. Based on past quad-comm hearings, money coming from POGO were allegedly used for such rewards. 

Meanwhile, Espinosa told the quad-comm that he was coerced by former national police chief and now-Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to incriminate then-senator Leila de Lima in a drug trafficking scandal. This led to De Lima's incarceration, which lasted over six years.
 

Related Tags

Kerwin Espinosa marcelino nonoy libanan quad-committee Royina Garma
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.