Hearings conducted by the special Quad Committee of the House of Representatives that established the link of the husband and brother of Vice President Sara Duterte in the alleged illegal drug industry are not politically-motivated, two House leaders stressed on Sunday.
“The truth of the matter is the probe started as early as 2023, where the drug haul in Mexico, Pampanga was worth P3.6 billion. How can it be political? The VP was still in the Department of Education then,” Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. pointed out.
“It just so happened that the panel stumbled upon the intertwined relationships of alleged drug lords and those involved in the illegal POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations). And a whistleblower was willing to come out and spill the beans,” he added.
His colleague, Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez made similar remarks, noting that it was “nothing personal.”
“Trabaho lang, walang personalan ito. Part of our mandate as legislators is to ferret out the truth. Should we shirk from our sworn duty only because the husband and brother of the VP are allegedly involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs?” He asked.
“Then ano pa silbi namin dito in government service? I don’t think we deserve the people’s vote and trust if all we should do is stop the investigation every time the name of a big personality comes up. The truth should always prevail no matter what. The people deserve no less,” he stressed.
Gonzales also said the “people deserve justice.”
“The most important thing here is the hearings are conducted in a very fair manner. No witch hunts. No prejudgments. No badgering of witnesses. And documents should match or bolster oral testimonies. And I think we did all that,” Gonzales maintained.
“I think it would be better if the VP just face the issues head on. Why can’t they just face Congress? We have already sent our invites. We will be very fair and they are also entitled to that – presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” Gonzales explained.
“They don’t have to hide. They don’t have to make excuses by saying these are all distractions. Face Congress if you have nothing to hide. They can settle the issues once and for all if they make declarations under oath in Congress,” Suarez for his part assured.
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