IPINAGKIBIT lamang ng mga kongresista ang sinabi ni Vice President Sara Duterte na politically motivated ang imbestigasyon ng quad committee kung saan naiugnay ang kanyang mister na si Manases Carpio at kapatid na si Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte sa importasyon ng shabu noong 2018.

Sinabi ni Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre ang “politically motivated” ay isang convenient excuse lamang at dapat ay sagutin ang mga alegasyon.

“Sa comment na this is politically motivated, I think that’s the most convenient excuse eh,” sabi ni Acidre sa isang press conference sa Kamara de Representantes nitong Martes.

“Noong war on drugs ng dating administrasyon, palagi nilang sinasabi na ‘kung wala ka namang itinatago bakit ka matatakot?’ Ibabalik ko lang sa kanila, kung wala silang itinatago, bakit sila matatakot na humarap sa Kongreso?” dagdag pa nito.

Para naman kay Assistant Majority Leader at Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela “Mika” Suansing ang politically motivated na pahayag ni VP Duterte ay “easiest way out.”

Iginiit ni Suansing na umuusad ang imbestigasyon ng quad committee batay sa mga ebidensyang lumalabas at hindi dahil sa politika.

“It’s just easy to dismiss allegations saying na all of those attacks, all of those investigations are politically motivated, but they’re not. I think in all of the hearings nakita po natin na may mga ebidensya,” sabi ni Suansing.

Dagdag pa nito, “Meron na pong mga salaysay, mga under oath na mga salaysay na medyo nagkakaroon na po tayo ng direksyon patungkol po doon sa sino’yung mga personalidad na kailangang tingnan. So this is not politically motivated, this is fueled by the need to really address the prevalent drug syndicates in the country, the prevalence of drugs in the country.”

Iginiit naman ni Committee on Muslim Affairs chair Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Khalid Dimaporo na trabaho ng Kongreso na imbestigahan ang isyu lalo at nagpapatuloy ang problema sa ipinagbabawal na gamot ng bansa.

“I think it is wrong for a statement to say na ‘wag kayong magtrabaho dyan because it is politically motivated,’” giit ni Dimaporo. “No, we have to look into the institutional safeguards, why did we end up having these problems with POGOs? Was there abuse of authority at the highest level? How did tons and tons of shabu come in?”

Pagpapatuloy ni Dimaporo, “We keep saying how many presidents had a war on drugs pero hanggang ngayon may pumapasok ‘yung mga tons and tons of shabu. We need to identify the problems so we can find the solutions. That’s the job of Congress.”

Sin abi ni Dimaporo na ang kasaysayan ang hahatol kung ang imbestigasyon ay politically motivated.

“Only time will tell. Before, they said President Bongbong Marcos and the Marcoses are dictators, they are our human rights violators. But time has already judged because this generation voted President Bongbong Marcos as our President. I would argue as a Marcos loyalist that everything that was said was politically motivated,” punto nito.

Dagdag pa ni Dimaporo: “During the Dutertes’ time, [then-Senator] Leila De Lima, she was thrown in jail, can you say that’s politically motivated? She came out innocent. Only time will tell if this will lead to cases where there’s substantial fact that wrong has been done, abuse of authority has been done, corruption has been done. That’s not political motivation, that’s us doing our jobs.”

Iniimbestigahan ng quad-committee—na binubuo ng Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, at Public Accounts—ang kaugnayan ng Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators o POGO sa bentahan ng ipinagbabawal na gamot, at extrajudicial killings sa madugong war on drugs ng administrasyong Duterte.

Sa nakaraang pagdinig, iniugnay ni dating Customs intelligence officer na si Jimmy Guban sina Carpio, Rep. Duterte, at negosyanteng si Michael Yang, ang economic adviser ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa smuggling ng P11 bilyong halaga ng shabu na itinago sa dalawang magnetic lifter noong 2018.

Nauna rito ay lumutang din ang pangalan ni Yang sa imbestigasyon kaugnay ng P3.6 bilyong halaga ng shabu na nasamsam sa isang warehouse sa Mexico, Pampanga noong nakaraang taon.