Former president Rodrigo Duterte (Bong go's Facebook)

If you are fit to attend a hearing at the Senate, you are also fit to attend a hearing at the House of Representatives. 

House quad-committee (quad-comm) co-chairman Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. gave this message to Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Oct. 29, a day after the former president made an impassioned appearance before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. 

“If he was physically well to attend the Senate inquiry on Monday, he should have no excuse to skip our next hearing,” Abante told House reporters in a press conference. 

The Blue Ribbon panel's inquiry--which was launched on Monday--was about the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, the same topic as the quad-comm hearings. 

Depsite an invitation, the 79-year-old Duterte no-showed the quad-comm’s ninth hearing last Oct. 22. Duterte, through his lawyer, said he was "not feeling well" and "needed to rest". 

“We expect the former president to show up in our next hearing. We have many questions to ask him about his war on drugs and the deaths that resulted from it. We believe his answers will give us a more complete picture of the EJKs (extrajudicial killings),” said Abante. 

“Maraming reklamo laban sa kanya at sa kanyang drug war implementers, pati ang kanyang PNP (Philippine National Police) chief, si Senator [Ronald] Bato dela Rosa. Nasa record ng quad-comm ‘yan, kaya gusto naming marinig ang panig nila. ‘Yun ang tamang proseso, hindi yung mauuna yung depensa sa reklamo,” explained the veteran congressman from Manila. 

(There are a lot of complaints against him and his drug war implementers, even his PNP chief, Senator Bato dela Rosa. That's on the quad-comm's record, as such we would like to hear their side. That's the proper process; the defense can't come before the complaint.) 

The next quad-comm hearing is scheduled on Nov. 6.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Duterte’s appearance at the Senate was his willingness to participate; he was present at 10 a.m. to start the hearing and declared that he was ready to stay up until 4 a.m. the next day, if only for exhaust all the questions of the panel. 

And then there was the former president's usual cussing, which--despite Senator Risa Hontiveros' appeals--rang out repeatedly within the Senate session hall. 

How to halt Duterte's 'PI' bombs?

Abante, also a pastor-preacher, took offense to Duterte’s use of cuss words, particularly the latter's tendency to say"PI" when gets angry or emotional. 

"The thing is this: yung PI, hindi lang mura yan eh. Nanay ko tinutukoy mo dyan eh. Nanay ko yan eh. Eh terible, mahal ko nanay ko eh, bat mo kinakailangang murahin?" he said. 

(PI is not an ordinary cuss word. You are referring to my mother there. That's my mother. My goodness, I love my mother, why do you have to say bad things about her?) 

"Aba eh pambihira ang pagtanggap ng ating kababayan yan, minumura mismo yung nanay niya, ay hindi ho katanggap-tanggap sakin yun," he said. 

(It's unfortunate that our countrymen have accepted cussing one's own mother, for me that is not acceptable.) 

Asked how he would stop Duterte from using foul language in case the latter attends the quad-comm hearing, Abante said that he would raise a "point of order". 

"Pag nagmura ang ating pangulo ng PI sa aming quad-comm, point of order pa rin yan (If our president says a cuss word during our quad-comm hearing, that warrants a point of order). 

"'Mr. Chairman, point of order. We should not allow any vulgar statement in this hearing,'" Abante demonstrated. 

"Ako I'm not against the Senate hearing no. Pero palagay ko, hindi uso sa Senado yung point of order (But in my opinion, the Senate isn't used to raising a point of order)," the co-chairman of the mega-panel said.
 

Quad-comm to 'take action'

A point of order is an interjection that may be raised by a House member if he or she wants to question something In a panel hearing that is often procedural in nature. 

"Kinakailangan po talaga, sansalain natin ito. Bakit? Kapag nasanay tayo dyan, yung mga bata sa mga kalye, ganun na rin ang gagawin nila eh," he said. 

(We really need to sift it. Why? If we get used to that then the children on the street will do that too.) 

Another quad-comm co-chairman, Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, agreed with Abante that a point of order would have to be raised in such a situation. 

"Oo ganun, tapos we will try to remind him. Tapos pag paulit-ulit pa rin, then we have to take action," Fernandez said, without going into specifics. 

(Yes that's right, then we will try to remind him. If it keeps on happening, then we have to take action.)