HOTSPOT
Former President Rodrigo Duterte and his former spokesperson Sal Panelo were supposed to throw a fit at the House of Representatives after the QuadComm initially moved the hearing. It would be a chance to malign the House and be the defiant hero of the day, right in the premises of the Batasang Pambansa.
But it was not to be. The QuadComm convened and took charge, and put Duterte in his place as a resource person. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas caught his ire, but she swatted him, reminding the former leader that he is attending an investigation.
Kudos to former Sen. Leila de Lima for her courage and grace. She has been vindicated, while her seatmate and nemesis may possibly be indicted soon. Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV knows precisely which buttons to push.
After Duterte complained about the slow pace of the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, the Marcos administration called his bluff.
In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said: “If the former President desires to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC, the government will neither object to it nor move to block the fulfillment of his desire.”
“But if the ICC refers the process to Interpol, which may then transmit a red notice to the Philippine authorities, the government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored, in which case the domestic law enforcement agencies shall be bound to accord full cooperation to the Interpol, pursuant to established protocols,” Bersamin added.
The hearings of both houses should provide the Department of Justice sufficient information to take Duterte to court, while at the same time strengthen the ICC complaint filed by victims of the drug war.
If Duterte sought to use his appearances in the House and the Senate to attract support to his and his daughter’s flagging political fortunes, it is quite doubtful if he achieved it.
The families of the many victims of Duterte’s drug war are living witnesses to the crimes pinned on Duterte and his cabal. Who exactly did the senior high school students, the PWDs, the pregnant women, the lolas and lolos, the sleeping teenagers, and many others victimize? What exactly were their crimes that could justify their extrajudicial execution?
Duterte could now be heard talking about rehabilitation of drug users. Again, it begs the question: Why did he deprive thousands of that same rehabilitation? Didn’t he tell the nation repeatedly that drug users were beyond salvation and deserved the fate that would befall them in his presidency?
Former president Duterte and Vice President Duterte were obviously mistaken that they could shake down and terrify President Marcos, Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senate President Chiz Escudero and others into submitting to their will and caprice. The developments in the past few months point not just to the abolition of the Uniteam alliance, but to a modus vivendi among political actors to do what needs to be done to prevent a repeat of the 2016-2022 period.
The same characters came forward to defend the Dutertes, and they have attracted no new allies. Former President and now congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is mum. Neither did she oppose or assail the QuadComm hearings.
Duterte’s PDP-Laban, Hugpong and Maisug failed to attract candidates and don't have a complete national slate. Meanwhile, the Dutertes have been challenged by the scions of their longtime rivals, the Nograles political clan.
It is possible that Duterte may not be able to campaign and to win back Davao City Hall, if the ICC issues the arrest warrants against him, Senator Rolando dela Rosa, and others. How can Harry Roque lawyer for them now, without first being arrested on orders of the House?
Vice President Duterte meanwhile has failed to shake off the questions on incompetence and corruption in her time as DepEd secretary and as vice chair of the NTF-ELCAC.
It should be clear by now to more people that out of these messy political fights, there’s an opportunity to push forward the cause of justice. It is an opportunity that should be seized, not wasted. Welcomed, not ignored.