Risa eyes contempt rap vs Rody for foul words

If former president Rodrigo Duterte again uses foul language during the next Senate hearing on his bloody crackdown on drugs, Sen. Risa Hontiveros will not hesitate to cite him in contempt.

- By MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB and JANVIC MATEO

"How very rude," Hontiveros said of Duterte's demeanor during Monday's hearing, wherein the former president spewed out expletives and pointed his fingers at senators who questioned his alleged policy of exterminating drug suspects.

"He is a visitor to our house, the Senate, but a visitor should not throw garbage there. Our rules state that there should be observance of parliamentary behavior or decorum. Duterte's rudeness and shamelessness are the worst I've seen from a resource person," Hontiveros told The Philippine STAR's online show "Truth on the Line," which was launched yesterday.

Asked if the Senate would hold Duterte in contempt if he uses foul language again at his next attendance, Hontiveros said: "If push comes to shove, that is always among the broad powers of the committee - cite a resource person for unruly behavior."

Being cited in contempt could mean getting detained.

She said she would not hesitate to have Duterte cited in contempt if he again liberally laces his statements with profanities.

"In our investigation on extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs, no one - not even a former president - is above the law," Hontiveros told STAR editor-in-chief Ana Marie Pamintuan, host of Truth on the Line.

But there is a chance Duterte may no longer be invited to the next scheduled hearing, because his admission under oath of having organized the Davao death squad (DDS) composed of gangsters and rich people may be more than enough for the committee, according to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who presided over last Monday's hearing by a sub-committee of the Blue Ribbon committee.

"As of the moment, I see no need. If some other senators see the need, then if they manifest it, I will entertain the idea. But as of the moment, no one has," Pimentel said on Wednesday.