Entire Senate eyed to probe drug war EJKs

MANILA, Philippines —   If the Senate decides to launch its own investigation on extrajudicial killings during the previous administration as proposed by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, it should do so as a committee of the whole to make it easier for witnesses and survivor-victims to testify, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said yesterday. “I proposed to the Senate leadership to convene a Senate committee of the whole, so that the whole Senate can investigate the previous administration’s war on drugs,” Hontiveros said in an interview wth dzXL. “It is important to find out the truth about the bloody war on drugs, for the families of the victims of extrajudicial killings.”

The quad committee, comprising four panels of the House of Representatives, has been investigating for months extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, and their possible connection to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs.

During one of the quad comm hearings, retired police colonel Royina Garma said Dela Rosa as national police chief facilitated the release of reward money to police officers for every drug suspect killed.

Dela Rosa denied the allegation and offered to lead a parallel Senate probe as chairman of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs. Sen. Bong Go also vowed to file a resolution calling for a Senate parallel investigation.

“Through the committee of the whole, I am more hopeful that the ‘victim survivors’ of the war on drugs would testify. We should hear from them to get to the whole truth,” Hontiveros said.

Senate President Francis Escudero said a parallel Senate investigation should not be led by Dela Rosa’s committee.

“I have spoken to Senator Bato and have indicated that it might be self-serving and might not sit well with some members and the public for him to lead the investigation,” Escudero said.

“I will consult the members of the Senate and explore all available options. I am due to meet with Senators Bato and Go over the weekend to discuss these options given that we are all out of town at the moment,” he added.

For her part, Sen. Imee Marcos nixed a Senate parallel probe, saying the allegations made against the previous administration should be better threshed out in the courts. Marcos is allied with the former president’s daughter Vice President Sara Duterte.

“This has dragged on for too long. Prosecution is in order, so that we can put this behind us. They should be punished as quickly as possible. We have to put an end to this finger pointing,” Marcos said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum yesterday.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he is in favor of inviting Duterte to the Senate hearing to give him a chance to clear his name.

“There have been precedents where former presidents were invited to shed light on pressing issues, so it will not be the first time for former president Duterte,” Estrada said.

“And in these proceedings, the Senate has demonstrated a high level of respect towards former presidents, including my father, while pursuing crucial information,” the senator added, referring to his father, deposed president Joseph Estrada who was pardoned of his plunder conviction.

The Senate, he stressed, would accord the former president respect if he accepts an invitation to attend a hearing.

“The testimony of the former president on the issue is crucial in uncovering the truth and ensuring that justice is served for all affected parties,” the senator said.

Conflict of interest

Quad comm officials have chided Dela Rosa for pushing for a Senate parallel probe on EJKs.

“He (Bato) should have some form of delicadeza, he should refrain from doing so. For me, it is highly inappropriate for him, the chief enforcer of the drug war, to lead a probe into the very operations he designed and implemented,” Rep. Dan Fernandez of Sta. Rosa in Laguna said.

“Senator Dela Rosa cannot lead this Senate investigation because there is an obvious conflict of interest. He was the chief enforcer of the bloody campaign against drugs. He was at the helm of this war, so he cannot objectively lead the probe,” he said.

He said it would be “conflict of interest” if Dela Rosa would lead such an investigation.

“As the architect of the war on drugs, Sen. Bato would be practically investigating himself. This undermines the integrity and objectivity of any findings that may result from this investigation,” Fernandez stressed.

Quad comm co-chairman Manila Rep. Benny Abante said Dela Rosa taking the lead in such probe would be “more biased than actually balanced.” Abante chairs the House committee on human rights.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, another quad comm chair, said Dela Rosa has a lot of explaining to do regarding his alleged payment of “allowances” to some individuals as part of the drug war.

“If ever it is true that allowances are being given away, then Senator Bato should explain why, to whom are these given and from where is this specific funding being sourced,” Barbers, chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs, stressed.

He said Dela Rosa’s acknowledgment of these payments should be scrutinized further.

“If indeed this is given in the form of an allowance, we have to know what is its main objective, and if ever the rules and regulations governing this allowance are used for legal purposes. We have to remember that these are all taxpayers’ money,” Barbers said.

‘Duterte may face raps’

Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) acting director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said the former president may be among those to be charged criminally if a reinvestigation of cold cases would establish his direct links to the killings.

“We’ll see where our investigation will take us. If we establish links, including with the former president, then so be it. We will include them in the charges if the evidence warrants,” Torre told reporters.

Charges that may be filed, Torre said, may include murder but different cases may be filed against “enablers,” depending on their participation, such as by inducement, or indispensable cooperation.

The PNP will reopen its investigation on high-profile deaths tied to Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, a move that Malacañang has promised to support.

High profile killings mentioned by Garma at quad comm hearings include those of three Chinese drug convicts in a Davao prison facility in 2016, Tanauan, Batangas mayor Antonio Halili in 2018, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2020. Torre said the PNP will jointly investigate the Barayuga case with the National Bureau of Investigation as per instrucion from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said a committee had been formed to look into the allegations of Garma. Garma herself and resigned Napolcom commissioner Edilberto Leonardo are now being linked to the Barayuga killing.

For the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, the Marcos administration should also reopen cases of killings of activists, and not just just of drug offenders.

“No police officer has been held accountable for the murders of so many activists who were subjected to red-tagging and terrorist-labeling under the Duterte regime,” Bayan president Renato Reyes said in a statement.

He cited the killing of nine activists in Calabarzon in March 2021 as well as of nine members of the Tumanduk, an alliance of indigenous peoples from Capiz and Iloilo, in  December 2020.

“No police officer has been held accountable for the murders of so many activists who were subjected to red-tagging and terrorist-labeling under the Duterte regime,” he said in a statement.

“It’s not just the killings of high profile politicians that must be probed. The murders of ordinary people, workers, farmers, indigenous peoples, are just as important,” Reyes said. -  Alexis Romero, Daphne Galvez, Emmanuel Tupas