MANILA, Philippines – The House committee probing drug war killings that took place during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte canceled its 11th day of inquiry scheduled Wednesday, November 13, as the former president confirmed his attendance.

But which came first, the notice of cancellation or the former president confirming his participation? It’s become a “he said, she said.

Wednesday’s quad committee hearing was scheduled early last week, but panel co-chair Representative Dan Fernandez said on Tuesday, November 12, that they were already preparing to cancel the hearing as early as Sunday, November 10. The cancellation was formalized on Monday night, November 11.

Based on the timeline provided by the House, the quad committee emailed government agencies the notice of cancellation at 6:42 pm. At 6:44 pm, a staff of the former president asked a quad committee staff via Viber if the postponement of the hearing was true, which the House staff confirmed.

At 9:23 pm on Monday, the committee sent a notice of cancellation to Duterte’s legal counsel Martin Delgra in his capacity as a resource person. At 10:35 pm, the same notice was emailed to Duterte through Delgra.

At 10:27 pm on Monday, former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo started a Facebook live, in which he said Duterte would face the quad committee on Wednesday.

“Let’s see the boldness of these congressmen. They’re finally going to face the one they’ve been challenging. And this person won’t back down. He will attend, and if you’re free, let’s welcome president Duterte when he comes to the Batasang Pambansa,” Panelo added.

Why reschedule?

Quad committee co-chair Representative Ace Barbers said the postponement of Wednesday’s hearing allows them to extend their preparations.

“Because of the several witnesses who wanted to give their testimony before the quad comm, we decided that maybe we should interview them all first. We’ll look at who’s more credible, and it will take a lot of time,” he said.

Barbers shrugged off claims that the quad committee got scared after Duterte confirmed his participation in the supposed November 13 hearing.

“No one here is backing down. Here’s the thing, to make it clear, on November 21, we have a hearing. So, let’s show up for that,” he added.

Panelo said he and Duterte will be present at Batasang Pambansa on Wednesday, whether or not the House sticks with the cancellation of the hearing.

“[Duterte] and I will go to Batasang Pambansa tomorrow at 10 am and confront the quad committee members why after demanding his presence and accepting their invitation and coming here last night, they will just cancel it without prior notice,” Panelo added. “He will ask them to schedule a marathon hearing of ten days.”

In previous quad committee hearings, 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 has killed at least 6,000 people based on official records, but human rights groups believe the tally could go as high as 20,000. – Rappler.com