At the fourth hearing on Wednesday (September 4), the Quad Committee and the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Panel, Robert Ace Barbers, representative of the second district of North Surigao, stated that they will coordinate with the Senate to arrange for Guo Huaping to participate in the investigation.
The co-chairman of the House Quad Group, Dan Fernandez, believes that "the powerful" are the masterminds behind the interconnected actions of POGO, illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings, and other related crimes. Several key figures in POGO companies have managed to evade the law, which "fully demonstrates the power and resources they control." He stated that despite accusations that the House hearings are politically motivated, the Quad Committee will not stop searching for the powerful masterminds.
Barbers expressed his desire to uncover the truth behind extrajudicial killings. In his opening remarks, he mentioned previous witness claims that former President Duterte was directly involved in the execution of a Chinese drug trafficker detained in Davao, adding, "If these allegations are proven true, it would reveal a systematic abuse of power and the deliberate elimination of individuals for economic benefits, all under the guise of maintaining public order."
The chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Manila representative Bienvenido “Benny” Abante, stated that the testimonies collected by the panel clearly "illustrate the interconnectedness of unlawful acts, the domino effect of evil—how evil begets evil." He hopes that during the course of the hearings, everyone will ultimately open their eyes to see that the evil of gambling goes far beyond individual sins, recognizing it as a societal evil that can corrode our nation and destroy lives.
