Davide to attend House probe on stripping inmates issue

CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III has accepted the invitation to attend the House inquiry on the Greyhound Operation at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) where inmates were stripped naked.

Davide said that he would “tell the truth” about the incident during the May 23 inquiry, which was called for by his predecessor and now 3rd District Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia.

“I received an invitation for me to speak before the committee on justice of the House of Representatives. I’m going there personally and to honor the invitation of the committee,” he said in a press conference yesterday.

Aside from Davide, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-7) Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz as well as Police Regional Office (PRO-7) Director Noli Taliño and Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Eric Noble have also received invitations to the House inquiry about last March’s Greyhound Operation.

Last March, Garcia also called for the inquiry during a privilege speech where she criticized the Davide administration for being inept in keeping order at the CPDRC.

She also said that the public, especially human rights advocates, should know that it was Davide who ordered the conduct of the Greyhound Operation where the inmates were stripped naked during a body search.

Davide already explained earlier that while he was the one who asked the PDEA-7 to conduct the operation, he did not specifically order them to make the inmates take off their clothes.

However, he said that he backed the decision of Ruiz because it was done to ensure the safety of the raiding personnel
Ruiz, for his part, said he would also attend the inquiry, but he had yet to ask clearance from PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña.