THE House Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez on Tuesday cited former Lucena City police chief Lt. Col. Reynaldo Reyes in contempt and ordered his detention at the House of Representatives for 30 days.
Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano said Reyes was cited in contempt for violation of paragraph c, (Section 11) of the House Rules, which pertains to “refusal to truthfully answer relevant queries by the committee members.”
Reyes may appeal the committee’s decision in the next hearing.
Committee members noted the vagueness in the replies of Reyes as they grilled him about the May 25 raid by eight intelligence officers on the residence of 52-year-old Renelyn Rianzales, who is a witness in a case being heard by the committee.
The case is about into the violence, harassment, intimidation, fraud and other criminal acts committed before, during, and after the conduct of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, as reported by Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, as embodied in House Resolutions 1479 and 1497, respectively.
The raid happened two days after her first appearance before the committee hearing.
Rianzales was in tears as she narrated how masked men raided her house waving guns at her and her two grandchildren. She said they were looking for a certain “Jonathan.”
House members expected Reyes, who was then the police chief in the area, to know about the details of the raid.
Suarez considered the raid at the residence of a House witness as an act that “tramples on the very essence of our legislatives process. This tramples upon the very essence of our democracy. This tramples upon the very essence of finding and ferreting out the truth.”
Committee members agreed, deeming the May 25 raid as an “insult to the institution” and promised to protect witnesses more rigorously.
The committee also noted the puzzling information that resource persons presented during the deliberation of HR 1497, filed by Hataman, seeking an investigation into allegations of fraud, anomalies, and other irregularities in the conduct of the Barangay and SK elections in Basilan on October 30, 2023.
Fernandez warned the concerned resource persons to be discreet and truthful in front of the committee.
“Be careful on what you are stating on this hearing… very crucial itong pinag-uusapan natin because we are trying to find out kung sino sa inyo ang mga nagsisinungaling,” he said.
About the Author
