MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives’ quad committee ordered the arrest of Police Colonel Hector Grijaldo during the mega-panel’s 13th hearing on Thursday, December 12.
Grijaldo, who claimed in a Senate hearing that he was coerced by lawmakers to testify against former president Rodrigo Duterte, was cited in contempt and ordered detained due to his failure to attend the hearing despite four invitations from the mega-panel.
“In the Senate, [Grijaldo] did not have a rotator cuff syndrome. I’m sorry, but I really believe it’s high time that — with the indulgence of all the chairmen — that I move to cite Colonel Hector Grijaldo in contempt,” Taguig-Pateros 2nd District Pammy Zamora said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Both the Senate and the House have the power to cite people in contempt and order their detention in aid of legislation. However, this power is not absolute as the chambers can only detain a person as long as the hearing is ongoing.
Grijaldo will be detained in the House’s premises until the end of the quad comm hearings, as manifested and approved during the Thursday inquiry.
The lawmakers looked into Grijaldo’s excuse in skipping the hearings, particularly because of his supposed medical condition after knee surgery. Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital chief orthopedic Police Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Garcia said that based on their check-up of Grijaldo, he was “awake coherent, cooperative, and ambulatory.”
The doctor said based on his evaluation, Grijaldo can attend the hearing despite his condition, but clarified that the decision would ultimately be based on his attending physician’s discretion. Grijaldo is still confined in PNP’s health facility in Pasig City. Garcia said the cop is still confined probably because his attending physician has yet to give him clearance.
Meanwhile, the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management said there’s already an administrative complaint against Grijaldo for his failure to attend the hearings, since attendance in inquiries is part of a cop’s official duty.
“The PNP confirmed that each absence counts as a separate instance of neglect of duty, potentially compounding Grijaldo’s case,” the House said.
Grijaldo was first dragged into the the quad committee hearing due to his position as former Mandaluyong City police chief when former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga was slain. He is also a classmate of retired police colonel and former PCSO general manager Royina Garma.
Unlike Garma, who spoke against Duterte and testified about the president’s drug war reward system and Davao Death Squad, Grijaldo instead claimed when he testified in the Senate in October that he was coerced by quad committee co-chairpersons Dan Fernandez and Bienvenido Abante to corroborate Garma’s revelations.
Fernandez and Abante have denied Grijaldo’s allegations. – Rappler.com