‘Duterte must attend House secret deal probe’

A LAWMAKER from the militant bloc at the House wants former President Rodrigo Duterte to face the House committee on national defense and the special committee on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to personally answer questions about his alleged secret agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Philippines will refrain from repairing the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) moved that Duterte and a representative from the Chinese embassy be invited in the next hearings after officials of the past administration did not show up for yesterday’s hearing.

Among the Duterte officials invited to the hearing were former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

Several current officials from the security cluster and from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) attended the inquiry but said they have no knowledge of the agreement.

“What we need is for former President Duterte to show up and the Chinese embassy, a representative of the Chinese embassy who knows about the agreement, Castro said. “We should invite yun talagang nakipag-secret agreement (the one who entered into the secret agreement), most importantly, former president Duterte.”

Special panel chair Rep. Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong City) and Iloilo Rep. Raul Tupas, a vice chair of the defense panel, decided to hold in abeyance voting on the motion.

Gonzales, a veteran lawyer-lawmaker and former majority leader, said the resource persons should first be allowed to state their positions and be asked if they know anything about the secret deal.

“May I suggest, however, that before any motion for that matter be acted upon by the committee, can we first take advantage of the presence of the resource speakers who are here? Number one, are we already in agreement that there is an agreement? Or do we have, can we ask them what kind of agreement can bind the government?” Gonzales said.

“Because it seems we are already saying that there is an agreement and yet that is something yet to be established. And even assuming that there is such an agreement — which some had already