By Junex Doronio
MANILA — “Hypocrisy and cowardice.”
This is how former Speaker and current Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez described the House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, as the Quad Committee invited former President Rodrigo Duterte to testify in its hearing on extra-judicial killings (EJKs) during his administration.
“Bawat SONA, yung Congress pumapalakpak, nakatayo pa, kasama diyan yung mga nasa QuadComm ngayon. Dapat isama sila sa imbestigasyon. Kung walang approval ng Congress, hindi mapapatupad ang War on Drugs. Hindi kailangan maging henyo para maintindihan yan,” Alvarez stated.
He also pointed out that many members of Congress—several still in power today—had the chance to intervene in the War on Drugs but chose not to. Alvarez emphasized that each year, appropriations bills were passed with little scrutiny of the human cost or the funding’s consequences.
“Hindi mangyayari ang War on Drugs kung hindi ito suportado ng taong bayan at pinayagan ng Kongreso noong 17th at 18th Congress. Karamihan ng mga miyembro ng Kamara noon, nandito pa rin sa 19th Congress. Kung guilty si dating Pangulong Duterte, iisa lang ang ibig sabihin niyan: guilty rin ang Kongreso,” he noted.
Alvarez stressed that the War on Drugs was not a solo effort by Duterte but one backed by the entire government, including Congress, which repeatedly passed the budgets that funded the anti-drug campaign.
In the QuadComm hearings, lawmakers are now scrutinizing Duterte’s role in the drug war. But Alvarez believes this investigation smacks of political convenience and selective memory.
“Kung totoong accountability ang pag-uusapan, doon tayo sa gumawa ng paraan para mapatupad ang War on Drugs. Kaya kung ang may kasalanan ang hahanapin, malaki ang parte ng Congress dahil kung walang pondo, walang War on Drugs,” Alvarez said.
Ironically, Alvarez was ousted as Speaker on July 23, 2018, just minutes before the State of the Nation Address (SONA), reportedly due to the maneuvering of then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter. He was replaced by former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is now considered the political mentor of Vice President Duterte.
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