MANILA – A House of Representatives leader on Tuesday denied allegations raised in a Senate hearing that Col. Hector Grijaldo was coerced by lawmakers to corroborate claims of an alleged reward system in the war on drugs by the Duterte administration.
In a press conference, House quad committee co-chair and Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez refuted Grijaldo’s claims that he and co-chair, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, asked that the witness support the testimony given by retired police colonel Royina Garma about a purported reward scheme tied to extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Grijaldo said the closed-door meeting supposedly happened on October 22.
He said the two pointed at a specific part of Garma’s testimony which he was to corroborate.
Under the rules, a lawmaker in the investigation panel is not supposed to talk to a witness without the presence of a lawyer.
Fernandez said such actions “never happened” and clarified that the meeting in question was initiated upon Garma’s request.
“Unang-una, talagang there was an incident na talagang pinatawag namin siya pero not on our own volition. Because it was Col. Garma as what I am saying sa mga interviews sa akin that asked na kausapin si Col. Grijaldo (First of all, there was an incident where we called him, but not on our own volition. Because it was Col. Garma as what I am saying in my interviews that asked us to speak with Col. Grijaldo),” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said the meeting was part of the quad committee’s vetting process and it included other individuals, including Abante and two of Garma’s lawyers, to ensure transparency.
“Kasi vetting process pa lamang ‘yun. Alam mo sa Kongreso, kinakausap muna namin and then kapag nalaman namin na pwede nating i-validate ‘yung sinasabi niya, then the lawyers will come out (It’s just part of the vetting process. You know in Congress, we talk to them [resource persons] first and if we determine that their statements can be validated, then the lawyers will come out),” he said.
Fernandez said Grijaldo’s presence even before Garma’s formal testimony on October 11 was unexpected, as the committee did not formally invite him as a resource person in its EJK probe.
“Noong bago mag-testify si Col. Garma (Even before Col. Garma testified), he [Grijaldo] was there. He was there and he wasn’t even invited. Nagulat na lamang ako nandun siya at hindi ko siya kilala (I was surprised to see him and did not know him),” he said.
Fernandez suggested that the coercion claims may be an attempt to undermine the House quad committee’s investigation.
“Nagugulat kami na nakikisawsaw siya sa isang bagay na hindi naman siya involved (We are surprised that he is inserting himself into an issue he’s not involved in),” Fernandez said.
Fernandez also addressed former president Rodrigo Duterte’s recent remarks, which accused him and Abante of inducing someone to commit perjury, saying he is considering possible legal action.
Reaffirming the committee’s commitment to transparency and integrity, Fernandez expressed their readiness to confront any legal challenges.
“And if this is the way that we need to act on certain things that happened, then we will confront the issue,” Fernandez said. (PNA)