Former president Rodrigo Duterte (Malacañang photo)

A ranking congressman from Mindanao told former president Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to honor his commitment to attend the upcoming House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing, just as he did with the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“Elected leaders should have the courage to practice the virtue of having a word of honor,” House Assistant Majority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong.

Adiong, a member of the "Young Guns" bloc, was referring to Duterte's commitment to attend the next quad-comm hearing on his administration’s war on drugs after the Nov. 1 holiday.

Lawyer Martin Delgra III intimated this to quad-comm overall chairman, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers in a letter he wrote on behalf of his client Duterte on Oct. 18.

It was the same letter wherein Duterte begged off from attending the quad-comm's previous hearing last Oct. 22 due to health reasons. "Rest assured of my client’s willingness to appear before the House on some other available date, preferably after Nov. 1," wrote Delgra.

However, the ex-president personally participated as a resource person in a hearing of the Senate blue ribbon panel on Oct. 28, or even before the holiday.

Duterte appeared energetic in the hearing and even told the senators that he was willing to answer their questions on the war on drugs until the next morning. 

"Filipinos know the former president as someone with palabra de honor (word of honor). Throughout his political career, especially during his decades as mayor of Davao City, he built a reputation as a man of his word. This integrity is largely why people repeatedly placed their trust in him," Adiong said.

The next quad-comm hearing will be held on Thursday, Nov. 7. Adiong emphasized the importance of Duterte’s presence at this hearing.

“It would demonstrate that he’s not afraid of accountability, just as he showed in the Senate probe, where he took responsibility and advocated for the victims of extrajudicial killings during his administration, shielding his police officers from potential criminal or administrative charges,” he explained.