Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Facebook)

House quad-committee (quad-comm) overall chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers says the proposed amendments to the 22-year-old illegal drugs law ought to be considered a priority measure under the Marcos administration. 

Barbers had this to say as quad-comm prepared to have its partial committee report or progress report approved in plenary before the Christmas recess on Dec. 18. 

"If im not mistaken mayroon kaming mga apat na proposed legislation na diyan tungkol dito sa amendments to the Republic Act (RA) No.9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 so maaaring ma-consider din ito bilang priority legislation," he told House reporters in an interview over the weekend. 

(If I'm not mistaken we have four proposed legislation on the amendments to RA No.9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 so it's possible for these to be considered as priority legislation.) 

"This is what we are hoping for [that] once the plenary [have] majority of the members agree and vote in support of this [progress] report then perhaps it will give a signal that this should be included in the legislative agenda of our President," said Barbers. 

The proposed tweaking of RA No.9165 is just one of many measures to be pitched by House members as a result of the quad-comm hearings. This proves that the marathon hearings are indeed a venue for the solons to review existing laws for the purpose of improving them, thus the tag "in aid of legislation". 

Launched in August 2024, the mega-panel's hearings have significantly examined details of previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs. 

The quad-comm made initial deliberations about its partial committee report in a closed-door meeting last Thursday, Dec. 5. 

"We will call it progress report kasi continuing yung quad-comm even after the Christmas season...quad-comm [hearings] will still continue," Barbers said. 

Barbers had insisted on the need for the plenary to adopt such progress report so as to legitimize it. 

He said agencies like the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) can only take cognizance of the progress report and consequently quad-comm's recommended actions once it is approved by the plenary.