MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has detained police colonel Hector Grijaldo since Saturday, December 14, the House Quad Committee chair said.
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, 2nd District) told the media on Monday, December 16, that the House sergeant-at-arms and Philippine National Police (PNP) implemented the contempt order and arrested Grijaldo.
"We asked the assistance of the Philippine National Police at saka ang ating (and our) House sergeant at arms to implement the contempt order and arrest and detain si colonel Grijaldo. Since December 14 pa siya nandirito (He has been detained since December 14),” he said in a media interview.
Grijaldo was cited in contempt and given a detention penalty by the House Quad Comm on December 12 for skipping four hearings, with no valid excuse for the most recent one.
For the first two hearings he missed, he was absent due to a “rotator cuff syndrome” and a medical procedure. For the third hearing, he said he was temporarily unable to walk.
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During the Quad Comm’s 13th hearing, a PNP physician said that Grijaldo was confined at a Pasig health facility and had undergone surgery in early December.
No hospital arrest, Christmas consideration
According to Barbers, Grijaldo appealed for a hospital arrest due to his condition, but the Quad Comm denied this request after the medical team that assessed him confirmed he was coherent and capable of walking.
“He wants to stay in the hospital and have a hospital arrest, but of course we did not allow that because sabi ng mga doctors ambulatory siya (doctors said he was ambulatory). Pwede na siyang lumabas, pwede siyang maglakad (He can leave now, he can walk),” he said.
“There’s no reason for him to stay in the hospital,” Barbers added.
Asked why Grijaldo did not receive the same “Christmas consideration” as other resource persons cited in contempt, the mega panel’s chair explained that his repeated absences had already disrespected the lower chamber.
“Hindi, kasi he failed to attend four times eh. In fact, he snubbed the invitation of the house na apat na beses after coming out of the Senate and marami siyang sinabi sa Senado,” Barbers said.
(No, because he failed to attend four times. In fact, he ignored the House's invitation four times after coming out of the Senate, and he said a lot in the Senate.)
Former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Wilkins Villanueva was also cited in contempt on December 12. However, the joint committee has allowed him to spend Christmas outside detention.
Villanueva will serve the detention penalty when Congress resumes its regular session on January 13, 2025.
Grijaldo’s turnaround
Grijaldo was a colleague of Royina Garma, a retired police colonel, who testified before the Quad Comm that the Duterte administration implemented a reward system for drug suspects killed.
He confirmed Garma’s affidavits but made a 180-degree turn at the October 28 Senate parallel inquiry into the war on drugs and extrajudicial killings.
Grijaldo also accused two Quad Comm chairmen, Rep. Dan Fernandez (Santa Rosa, Lone District) and Rep. Bienvenido Abante (Manila, 6th District) of coercing him to confirm Garma’s affidavits.
This was disputed by Garma’s lawyers who were present at the meeting Fernandez and Abante had with Grijaldo.
“Nung inimbitahan namin siya pabalik dito, hindi na niya pinapansin ito. At ‘yun ang aming nakita na meron siyang disrespect na pinakita at pangiinsulto sa mababang kapulungan,” Barbers said.
(When we invited him back here, he ignored it. And that’s when we saw that he showed disrespect and insulted the lower house.)
The detained police colonel was also the Mandaluyong City Police chief in 2020.
It was under his term when former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary Wesley Barayuga was killed because of alleged ties to the illegal drug trade.