Dela Rosa still willing to lead Senate drug war probe

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday renewed his willingness to lead the Senate drug war investigation even though his colleagues have opposed it, saying it is a clear case of conflict of interest.

In a dwIZ interview yesterday, Dela Rosa said he, as the chairman of the Senate public order and dangerous drugs committee, can call for a motu proprio investigation into the war on drugs waged by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Dela Rosa’s willingness to lead the investigation was widely criticized as self-serving, as he led the narcotics crackdown when he was Duterte’s Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

“I will also try to defend the mandate of my committee even though they accuse me of being self-serving. Just give me a chance to show to the public that I can be fair, that I have no hidden agenda but the truth,” Dela Rosa said.

He said Duterte would be more comfortable attending the hearings if it is conducted by the Senate instead of the House of Representatives, where a quad committee was formed to look into the rights abuses of the previous administration.

He will also invite the House resource persons who accused the previous administration of using the war on drugs as a tool for political vendetta and of implementing quota and reward money systems for every drug suspect killed, namely former Iloilo city mayor Jed Mabilog, Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido and retired police colonel Royina Garma.

He would also invite alleged Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, who accused the former top cop of threatening to kill him if he did not follow his orders to implicate Duterte’s archnemesis, former senator Leila de Lima, in the drug trade.

The senator even promised to invite the families of those killed in the drug war – mostly poor drug pushers and users who were defenseless but shot by police officers or killed vigilante-style.

But to keep it balanced, Dela Rosa said he wants local chief executives to testify about the gains of the previous administration’s ruthless campaign.

The senator promised not to use the hearings to “besmirch anyone’s reputation,” like what the House of Representatives quad committee did.

But Dela Rosa said he would concede if most of his colleagues prefer a Senate committee of the whole or another committee to lead the investigation.

“I also have reservations out of delicadeza, because some might think I am using my committee just to clear myself,” Dela Rosa said.

Senate President Francis Escudero clarified that under their rules, it is only the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that can call for a motu proprio investigation when the Senate is on break.

Escudero said he preferred the investigation to be conducted by a powerful standing committee, instead of the whole Senate as a committee of a whole.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros had wanted the committee of the whole to lead the investigation so that drug war victims could speak out without fear of retribution.

The Blue Ribbon committee, which investigates government misconduct, is headed by reelectionist senator Pia Cayetano, one of Duterte’s allies in the Senate.

Another committee that can lead the investigation is the Senate justice and human rights committee, chaired by minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III.

Escudero said he would talk to Senators Dela Rosa and Bong Go about the committee to handle the investigation.

Go was also implicated in the House quad comm inquiry after he was tagged by Garma as the facilitator of the drug war reward money scheme. — Sheila Crisostomo, Emmanuel Tupas