Former President Rodrigo Duterte (Senator Bong Go’s Facebook page)

Former president Rodrigo Duterte is expected to defend his administration’s policies--including the bloody anti-drug campaign--should he opt to attend the House quad-committee’s (quad-comm) ongoing probe into the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under his term.

This is according to Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, who stressed that the panel’s invitation to Duterte warrants an appearance.

“Kung naniniwala talaga ang dating presidente sa pagiging tama niya sa kaniyang mga naging desisyon at polisiya ng kaniyang administrasyon, bakit hindi siya magpakita sa Kongreso, sa kumite, para i-defend ang kaniyang sarili,” Acidre said in a chance interview on Monday, Nov. 4.

(If the former president really believes that he is correct in his administration’s decisions and policies, why does he not appear in Congress,  the committee, to defend himself.)

As peper a letter signed by Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the lead chairman of quad-comm, Duterte is invited to attend the scheduled hearing on Thursday.

The former president was earlier invited to appear in the panel’s hearing  Oct. 22 to shed light on the EJKs that became prevalent during his term.

Duterte, however, skipped the hearing due to health concerns. In a letter signed by his legal counsel, the former president said he was willing to appear in quad-comm hearings after Nov. 1.

“As how the committee has worked in the past, malaking bagay kung nandiyan mismo ang dating presidente para ilahad ‘yung kaniyang side. Magiging kompleto lamang [ang hearing] kung may partisipasyon ng presidente,” said Acidre.

(It's a big deal if the former president is there to present his side. The hearing will only be complete with the participation of the president.)

He noted that previous presidents always show up in congressional hearings when invited.

While Duterte's attendance to the Nov. 7 hearing is still a huge question mark, the former president recently attended the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee’s parallel inquiry on the same topic.

Among his revelations during the hearing was the confirmation of the existence of death squads under his term, as well as the order to policemen to encourage drug suspects to fight back to essentially justify the killings.

Acidre, who is an ex-officio member of the quad-comm, said the chairpersons of the mega panel may opt to question Duterte over his Senate testimonies.

“Whatever material, whatever testimony that were taken from the hearing sa (in the) Senate should be recognized also. Kasi (Because) all of those were taken under oath,” he explained.