Fugitive?

The House of Representatives quad committee (quad comm) on Tuesday called me a defiant fugitive from justice – ouch! – after citing me in contempt for the second time and issuing an arrest order for my detention.

While it is true that the Senate and the House of Representatives have the power to conduct legislative inquiries and the power to compel the submission of documents to effectively shape legislation, this is not absolute.

The High Court stressed that this power is subject to three limitations. These are, one, the inquiry must be in aid of legislation; two, the inquiry must be conducted in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure and three, the constitutional right to due process of persons appearing before legislative inquiries must be respected.

I submit that the House order violates the above-mentioned limitations.

I find the request of private and personal documents, such as my Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from 2016 to 2022, my and my wife’s income tax returns (ITRs) from 2014 to 2022 and our respective medical certificates irrelevant and immaterial to the quad comm hearing on POGO.

In addition, the release of my family’s financial history, including the extrajudicial settlement of the estate and tax returns of my late aunt and the transfer of property of the 1.8-hectare property in Parañaque that my family sold, is not germane to the subject of the inquiry, which is about POGO investigation.

The same applies with my corporate history, which have no bearing on pressing national concern. The corporations I helped set up date to 2014. Most of my business transactions transpired long before I met some individuals from Whirlwind Corporation in 2022.

Whirlwind representative Cassandra Ong even cleared my name in an earlier House hearing. She firmly said I was never a legal representative of Lucky South. Moreover, in the last Senate hearing, Catherine Salazar, the secretary of former mayor Alice Guo, said she doesn’t know me.

How many more witnesses need to come out for the members of quad comm to believe I have no links with POGOs?

Further, the documents being asked by quad comm constitute a violation of my fundamental rights, including my right to privacy and my right against self-incrimination.

While I have long been a public figure, I have not been in government for almost three years now. In addition, I only have a short stint in the previous administration, having served for only two-and-a-half years. Why are they targeting me for unexplained wealth as if my life and income depend solely in government? Modesty aside, I spent my university years in the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States – with the help of family, of course.

I keep asking: what horrible crime did I commit that my critics and detractors continue to pound me? Is this professional jealousy because I was an effective Duterte spokesperson? Or simply, a personal hatred?

As a staunch advocate of the rule of law, I have exhausted available legal remedies and filed a motion to quash, which the House of Representatives unfortunately denied.

My recourse now is to challenge the quad comm’s order before the Supreme Court and file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and a petition for certiorari, respectively.

I repeat: I am not a fugitive. I have not violated any law. The issuance of an arrest order is due to my failure to submit subpoenaed documents. No case has been filed against me by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission or the Philippine National Police.

They have filed cases against Cassy Ong and the others involved in Porac, but I was not included. Cases have been filed too against Alice Guo and others in Bamban, but again, I am not included. My only case is my non-compliance with the quad comm order to submit documents which have nothing to do with any illegal gaming activity.

I no longer expect truth and fairness from quad comm, which is not even a legal court. It is a congressional hearing where the sole agenda is the destruction of the Dutertes and their allies. In their eyes, I am guilty until proven innocent. Quad comm already has a narrative in mind. It will not listen to my side of the story. It only wants its version of the story.

It is for this reason that I have decided not to appear before the quad comm until issues that I ventilated have been brought to the Highest Court for judicial determination.

As an ordinary person exercising my right against powerful politicians in Congress, I know the battle will be uphill but I have my protection called the Bill of Rights under the Constitution.

As I wait for the Supreme Court decision, it is noteworthy to mention that my freedom is important to me. I will not surrender my freedom again as I did before, when I surrendered it when I was detained at the House of Representatives.

As an officer of the Court, I will follow the legal process and submit to the Supreme Court, and if the High Court rules that I have to provide the documents, I will immediately comply.

I am availing of judicial review against an order issued in grave abuse of power and grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction. The quad comm order is simply illegal.

I find it alarming to see the brazen abuse of legislative inquiries. It is about time we observe the supremacy of the Constitution and adhere to the rule of law.

I sincerely hope the High Court will give me and my family the justice that is being denied me by Congress.