Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop berated his fair share of supposedly uncooperative and misbehaving resource persons and witnesses in the House quad-committee (quad-comm) during its 11-month investigation in aid of legislation.
In the quad-comm's 15th and final hearing on Monday night, June 9, Acop said that the tough and strict manner by which the probe was conducted was all in the interest of getting the job done.
"The quad-comm is tasked not only with uncovering the truth, but also with ensuring that truth leads to meaningful lasting change," Acop, the overall vice chairman of the mega-panel, said in his closing speech.
"The testimonies and pieces of evidence presented here at the quadcomm hearings have brought to light both the progress, and the troubling gaps in our current systems," he said.
'So kami rin po ay nagpapasalamat sa cooperation din po ng aming resource persons. Kahit kayo po ay napapagalitan namin, kahit kayo po ay aming kino-contempt kasi mayroon po kaming mission o objective na dapat marating at ma-accomplish. Sana po maindindihan niyo po kami," explained the Antipolo lawmaker.
(We also thank our resource persons for their cooperation. Even though we may reprimand or hold you in contempt, it is only because we have a mission or objective that we need to reach and accomplish. We hope you understand.)
Acop, a former police brigadier general, is the sole senior official from the quad-comm who will return in the 20th Congress. He won his reelection bid in the May polls.
"We owe that to the victims and to the Filipino people who deserve institutions that protect and serve with integrity. The quad-comm's work does not end here. Let these hearings stand as a commitment of the House of Representatives that we will do our work to the best of our ability, and it will continue to perform the task given to it," he added.
Since August 2024, the quad-comm has been looking into the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), extrajudicial killings (EJKs), money-laundering, illegal drugs, and former president Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs.
The individuals cited for contempt during the course of the quad-comm hearings were former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, POGO personalities Alice Guo and Cassandra Ong, former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Wilkins Villanueva, and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Superintendent Gerardo Padilla, just to name a few.
The livestreamed hearings typically draw hundreds of thousands--and sometimes millions--of viewers.