THE House Quad Comm intends to present to the plenary an initial report on its exhaustive inquiries into illegal drugs and its connection to illicit Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration.
Lead panel chairman Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said the mega committee would submit the report before Congress starts its Christmas recess on Dec. 21.
He said Quad Comm is presenting a “progress report” so the several remedial legislative measures its leaders and members have filed and would be filing could soon be processed.
“The reason kasi why we will submit this in the plenary ‘yong progress report, kasi there are things na dapat maaksiyunan na kaagad,” he said.
Barbers added that the plenary could suggest to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to include the measures in his priority legislative agenda, or better yet, to certify them as urgent so that Congress could expedite the approval process.
“Halimabawa, no yong mga proposed legislation na ifinile namin no we are hoping na because this is the output of Quad Comm…eh dapat siguro kung pupuwede maisama sa legislative agenda na ating Pangulo or baka suwertehin pa tayo, ma-certify as urgent yung bill no nang sa ganun yung counterpart naman sa Senate ay gumawa din at kumilos din. So basically, this is the intention of the progress report, para ma-dispose na namin yan,” he stressed.
Barbers pointed out that Quad Comm members have introduced at least four remedial measures.
“Importante yan kasi, if I’m not mistaken, mayroon kaming mga apat na proposed legislation na diyan tungkol sa amendments to the Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,” he said.
“So maaaring ma-consider din ito bilang priority legislation. So sana, this is what we are hoping for na once the plenary ay majority of the members agree and vote in support of this report, then perhaps it will give a signal that this should be included in the legislative agenda of our President,” he said.
Among the remedial pieces of legislation Quad Comm has proposed is a bill defining extrajudicial killing as a heinous crime and imposing the maximum penalty on offenders, and the proposal to create an inter-agency government committee led by the Philippine Statistics Authority that would expedite the administrative cancellation of questionable birth certificates.
In the course of its inquiry, the mega panel has discovered that several Chinese nationals have acquired Filipino citizenship using fake birth certificates.
Pretending to be Filipinos, these Chinese then formed corporations and purchased land and buildings which they used for illegal activities, including a warehouse in Barangay San Jose Malino in Mexico town, Pampanga, where authorities seized a P3.6-billion worth of shabu shipment in September 2023.
Barbers said Quad Comm’s initial progress report would also include recommendations for the filing of charges against individuals linked to illegal drugs, illicit POGOs and EJKs, and for the concerned government agencies to actively pursue such cases.
“Mayroon tayong nirerekomenda d’yan based on testimonial evidence and documentary evidence. Eh nakita namin na siguro its high time that we report this out and let the appropriate agency conduct further investigation on EJK, mayroon din sa POGO and drugs,” he said.
He said the four-committee panel would present progress reports as it pursues its inquiry into illegal drugs, POGOs and EJKs.
He added that the panel is planning to terminate the illegal POGOs part of its investigation so it could focus on illicit drugs and EJKs.
“We are thinking of already terminating yong hearing namin sa POGO, so tututok na lang tayo sa dalawang usapin no yong EJK at saka yong drugs,” the Mindanao lawmaker said.
Asked if Quad Comm plan to again invite former President Rodrigo Duterte to its inquiry, Barbers said, “No need na siguro, because yong 12-13 hours na meeting natin sa kanya basically ‘yun na yong gusto nating marinig, a little more than what he revealed or what he admitted in the Senate. So sa tingin ko sufficient na yon.”
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