The hearing on the drug war in the House of Canceled will go ahead as scheduled after Duterte’s taunting

Duterte’s mouthpiece earlier said the former president would appear at the Batasang Pambansa on Wednesday, November 13, regardless of whether the House adheres to the cancellation of the hearing or not, to “confront the members of the four committees.”

MANILA, Philippines — The 11th day of the House of Representatives’ investigation into the drug war killings that took place during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency now continues after he complained about the last-minute postponement of the hearing.

Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed this development to Rappler. The House website also removed the “cancellation” tag next to the Quad Committee hearing listed for Wednesday, November 13.

The leaders of the Quad Committee had said on Tuesday, November 12, that they had postponed the hearing to November 21 to give them more time to vet witnesses who wanted to testify before the mega panel.

They claimed they were already planning to postpone the hearing last weekend, but did not formalize the suspension until Monday, November 11. Duterte’s legal adviser was informed of the postponement on Monday evening.

However, according to reports, Duterte arrived in Manila before the Quad Commission informed him of the cancellation of Wednesday’s investigation.

Pro-Duterte propagandists online described the hearing’s postponement as a cowardly move, but lawmakers denied this, insisting that the cancellation of the hearing occurred even before the Duterte camp had publicly confirmed his attendance.

Former presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday that Duterte will attend the Batasang Pambansa on Wednesday regardless of whether or not the House adheres to the cancellation of the hearing.

“(Duterte) and I will go to Batasang Pambansa (Wednesday) at 10am and confront the members of the Quad Committee as to why after demanding his presence and accepting their invitation and coming here (Monday) evening, they just did it without prior notice will cancel,” Panelo added. “He will ask them to schedule a 10-day marathon hearing.”

If Duterte shows up, he will be greeted with protests organized by left-wing groups outside Batasang Pambansa. Bayan said they would call for Duterte’s imprisonment “as part of the demand for justice and accountability over the former president’s serious crimes against humanity.”

There will also be a mass for victims of the drug war in the House of Representatives at 9:30 am.

During previous hearings in the four committees, Duterte was accused of recruiting his most trusted men and women to replicate at the national level the supposed “Davao model,” a reward system in exchange for successful killings.

His bloody anti-narcotics campaign killed at least 6,000 people, based on official data, but human rights groups believe the number could be as high as 20,000 if civil drug war killings are included. – Rappler.com