House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Do you know many resource persons have been cited in contempt by the various committees in the House of Representatives this 19th Congress? 

The answer is 37, the possibly even more in the coming weeks once the House's vaunted quad-committee (quad-comm) launches its hearings on the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), illegal drugs, and the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the previous Duterte administration's drug war. 

It was learned that the total of 37 contempt citations were issued by the following committees in the Public Accounts, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, Dangerous Drugs, Franchise, Agriculture, and others. 

An individual is cited for contempt by House members if he or she is deemed uncooperative or hiding the truth in the investigation being conducted. 

As penalty, the person cited for contempt can be defined by the House of Representatives. 

The quad-comm is composed of the Committees on Public Accounts, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Dangerous Drugs--in short, these are the House panels that don't mess around when citing erring resource persons in contempt. 

Speaking of detention, House Secretary-General Reginald “Reggie” Velasco and Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon “Nap” Taas recently led the inauguration of a new four-room detention facility within the House of Representatives in Batasan, Quezon City. 

The facility, which can hold 16 people, is located at the building of the Legislative Security Bureau (LSB). 

At present, there are two individuals who are detained at the House of Representatives: Daisy Quiros, a real estate broker ordered detained by the Committee on Public Accounts, and Ronilyn Baterna, the Corporate Secretary of Lucky South 99 ordered detained by the Committee on Public Order and Safety. 

Taas said that before the 19th Congress, there was no detention facility dedicated to holding those declared in contempt of the chamber. 

He added that last July 10--before the completion of the detention center--the House temporary facility could no longer accommodate more detainees. 

He said they were left with no choice but to have Mayor Abundio Punzalan and Loreto Santos, cited in contempt by Committee on Public Accounts, committed at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facilty in Bicutan, Taguig City. 

“Since time immemorial, the HRep (House) has never had a facility dedicated for those held in contempt by the committees. It is only in this 19th Congress under the leadership of the Honorable Speaker Martin Romualdez that such a facility is finally constructed,” Taas said. 

“What we have not only ensured a safe and secured detention facility but one where detainees could serve their detention orders in a dignified condition. It also affords the Security Bureau a facility that is much easier to secure,” he added. 

The 19th Congress will end next year, just before the May 2025 mid-term polls.