Convict's testimony vs Duterte son, others being weighed, House 'Quad Committee' says

The Manila Times

Convict's testimony vs Duterte son, others being weighed, House 'Quad Committee' says  Rep. Jefferson Khonghun of Zambales, Mikaela Suansing of Nueva Ecija, Jude Acidre of Tingog Partylist, and Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte reiterates on Aug. 20, 2024 that the House of Representatives 'Quad Committee' has to weigh convicted Customs Intel Officer Jimmy Guban's testimony last week at a public hearing and said that they cannot be faulted for doing their job looking into Guban's claims. This is in response to a Manila Times  columnist's comment that the lawmakers prioritized the testimony of a convict over an individual who alleged that a leader had an 'impaired sense of judgment' due to cocaine use.   VIDEO BY RED MENDOZA  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes  #TMTNews  #philippines  #convict

Transcript

00:00Definitely not. I'm not saying that the Quad Comp is not a judicial body by any sense.

00:06Actually, if you look at the investigations, it's always at the end of it you say,

00:11in aid of legislation. So that's what we're trying to look at.

00:14We're looking at policies and institutional safeguards that we can still put up

00:19when policies have failed.

00:21So let me just clear that we are not a judicial body by any means.

00:26What I'm saying is, a lot of the personalities that are being invited

00:31choose to talk to the media rather than talk to the Quad Comp.

00:38So a lot of the times, we also read what they say in the media.

00:43That's why we're very grateful to our friends in the media for being that bridge as well

00:49in the absence of the presence of these personalities in the Quad Comp.

00:53So what I'm saying is, the Quad Comp is a forum by which they can respond to the allegations.

01:00What I'm saying is, if they want to clear their names, if they want to respond to the allegations,

01:06the Quad Comp is a forum, a channel for them to be able to do it as well.

01:11So yes, we are not a judicial body by any means. I would just like to clarify that.

01:17You won't be afraid if you're not guilty.

01:19So in the eyes of the people, in the eyes of the public, who can see and know what they're doing,

01:25we can't help but think of our fellow countrymen who are guilty of the accusations against them.

01:33So yes, it's better if they face up and explain so that at least they can clear their names.

01:41But for now, they're running away, so we can't help but think of our fellow countrymen

01:47who are guilty of the accusations against them.

01:53Why is a convict, Jimmy Guban, who served time in jail and was brought to the committee

02:04not to testify on what he has told him?

02:07Like what Jimmy Guban said, I was told.

02:11Is it hearsay or rarest testimony?

02:13And why didn't Kati Binag, the one who said that BBN is using cocaine, give a hearing?

02:21What's your reaction to that?

02:24Why not?

02:26Right?

02:27Mr. Guban has information.

02:32He has information.

02:34We're not saying we're taking it at face value.

02:36But the man has a story that he needs to be told.

02:39And we're thankful that he is brave enough to share his side of the story.

02:44And I hope the other leaders are just as brave.

02:48They said, back then, if you're not hiding anything, why are you afraid?

02:55Congress will always be open to all the resource persons

02:59for us to have a better and a complete picture of what's really happening.

03:03We're not saying they weren't invited.

03:07They were invited.

03:09They were given time to share their knowledge about these issues.

03:16Yet, they refused to come.

03:18And Congress, as I said, as we've been repeating, cannot be faulted for doing our job.

03:26But the allegation that BBN's whistleblower, Kati Binag, is using cocaine,

03:35this is what our columnist said.

03:38Maybe if there's an investigation, right?

03:44Our investigation is focused on this problem of those who don't agree with what we're doing.

03:53What they're doing is always comparing themselves to others.

03:58They're trying to deflect the issue.

04:01Congress, especially us, cannot be confused.

04:10It's clear to us what we want to achieve.

04:15What they're doing is also clear to us what they want to achieve.

04:20We cannot be a party to that.

04:22This is an investigation.

04:24There's a process.

04:26There's evidence.

04:28It's all in front of the right forum.

04:31I wasn't the only one who pressed Mr. Guban before he appeared in the House.

04:37He was also there in the Committee.

04:40It's hard to deflect what the House is doing

04:51to reduce or to subtract credibility from what we're doing.

04:58But we're confident that people can see what's right and what needs to be done.

05:08Mr. Ace himself said that

05:16We listened to him.

05:18We looked at his affidavit.

05:20His testimony in the QUADCOM.

05:22The Committee still needs to do the validation.

05:26As Cong Khalid said, you can question the credibility of the witness.

05:31You can question the validity of his statements.

05:34But that's the QUADCOM's job to reanalyze all of the statements from all of these witnesses

05:40and then come up with a Committee report.

05:43Earlier, the columnist asked me why I listened to the convict.

05:51Just because he's a convict doesn't mean all of his statements are not valid or automatically voided.

05:58That's what the Committee is doing.

06:00We're listening to his statement, to what he wants to say.

06:07From that, we'll look at the bigger picture of what the QUADCOM is doing.

06:14Does his testimony make sense?

06:17That's all.

06:18That's probably the only standout in my statement.

06:21Just because he's a convict doesn't mean all of his statements are not voided.

06:24We should give him a chance to speak in the QUADCOM.

06:30He should share his knowledge.

06:32The QUADCOM's job is to look at whether his statements are valid or not.

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