House members dare ex-president Duterte to attend drug war hearing

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives have challenged former President Rodrigo Duterte to attend their upcoming hearing on the drug war following his threats against them.

Members of the House's "Young Guns" faction urged Duterte to stop making excuses and instead face the quad committee directly.

Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Jefferson Khonghun specifically dared Duterte to attend the hearing on Wednesday to carry out his threat of kicking lawmakers.

Rep. Paolo Ortega also called on Duterte to be "man enough" to fulfill his threat and attend the hearing, emphasizing that while they respect him, they are not afraid.

The lawmakers believe Duterte should demonstrate his words by being present at the hearing, rather than issuing empty threats.

However, Rep. Dan Fernandez suggested that announcements of Duterte's confirmed attendance were a plot to make lawmakers look bad, as he had been invited multiple times and had previously declined.

Fernandez speculated that this tactic was used because the hearing was rescheduled, implying an attempt to portray the committee as backing out of invitations.