'Rody likely to skip quad comm hearing'

Former president Rodrigo Duterte is likely to skip the hearing of the quad committee of the House of Representatives tomorrow, Assistant Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V said yesterday.

- JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

Ortega, a member of the House's so-called Young Guns, noted that Duterte's legal team might recommend to the former president to "play it safe" and not attend the quad comm hearing, as testifying under oath could potentially expose not only the latter's legal vulnerabilities, but also those of his close allies, Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Bong Go.

This recommendation could stem from concerns about the controversial reward system that allegedly incentivized "drug kills" in the Duterte administration's war on drugs, according to Ortega.

He said Dela Rosa and Go played significant roles in the previous administration's anti-drug campaign, which claimed thousands of lives, including those of innocent civilians and children.

"I believe his legal team might pursue a 'play it safe' strategy of 'less talk, fewer mistakes,' and they can best achieve this by advising Duterte not to attend the quad comm hearing. They'll only dig themselves deeper if the former president speaks," Ortega said.