La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Facebook)

As House of Representatives members hold their breath for a possible appearance from Rodrigo Duterte before the quad-committee (quad-comm), at least one of them is convinced that the ex-president would be better off not attending or talking altogether.

“I believe his legal team might pursue a ‘play it safe’ strategy of ‘less talk, fewer mistakes,’ and they can best achieve this by advising Duterte not to attend the quad-comm hearing. They’ll only dig themselves deeper if the former president speaks,” House Assistant Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega said.

The House quad-comm has once again invited Duterte to attend its hearing--this time on Nov. 7--so he may answer questions about the bloody drug war that took place during his administration. 

Duterte, 79, is coming off an appearance  the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee last Oct. 28 wherein he practically accepted responsibility for what took place in the war on drugs.

This, after he no-showed the previous quad-comm hearing last Oct. 22 due to supposed health reasons claimed by his counsel, lawyer Martin Delgra III. 

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, a Duterte appointee, had testified before the quad-comm about the existence of a reward system wherein cash incentives were provided to police officers who eliminated suspected drug offenders.

Ortega noted that these revelations shed a disturbing light on the inner workings of the previous administration's drug war.

“If there was a reward system behind these ‘drug kills,’ this is a serious issue that needs full clarification. If both Senator [Ronald "Bato"] dela Rosa and Senator [Christopher "Bong"] Go were involved, then responsibility does not lie solely with Duterte but with those who stood by him in this campaign,” Ortega said, referring the ex-president's close allies in the Senate.

Ortega also reminded the public that Duterte had acknowledged in the Senate hearing the existence of the so-called “Davao Death Squad"--a vigilante group allegedly responsible for numerous extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in Davao City during the latter's tenure as mayor. 

Duterte even claimed that Dela Rosa was involved in this squad. “If this is true, we may be seeing a larger picture than we thought,” Ortega said. 

“This isn’t just about policy; it’s about a pattern of violence that has characterized their approach to law enforcement," added the Ilokano.