A few more hearings, and the two chambers of Congress will wrap up their respective probes on the killings in connection with the war on drugs waged by Rodrigo Duterte.
Soon, lawmakers will be busy with the campaign for the 2025 elections. And with the change in the compositions of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it’s unlikely that there will be Season 2 of the quad comm and Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings.
What comes next?
The question is asked because of what the nation has seen after congressional probes ended and the subsequent prosecution efforts – such as in the Pharmally scandal – turned out to be disappointing.
It’s not the first time that Congress has conducted a probe into the Davao death squad. Of course, what was lacking in the previous probe was the bombshell admission of Rodrigo Duterte himself.
Testimonies have been given recently that should warrant indictment for heinous offenses, including possible violations of Republic Act 9851, the 2009 Philippine law covering crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Lawmakers have pointed out that pursuing court cases is not their job; it would have to be done by government prosecutors and concerned groups or persons.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, who chairs the Blue Ribbon subcommittee, is running for congressman of Marikina’s 1st district. He seems uninterested in calling a second hearing. Perhaps the flak that the first hearing drew, from those who said the subcommittee allowed Duterte to hijack the proceedings, has soured Pimentel to Round 2 with the unapologetic, ever pugnacious and foul-mouthed former president.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, however, may ask for one more round, to clarify inconsistencies in Duterte’s statements, particularly in the composition of his death squad in Davao, as well as his denial of Royina Garma’s testimony about the cash rewards from Malacañang for drug kills.
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Senator Risa, who graced the maiden edition of The STAR’s online news and current affairs show “Truth on the Line” on Oct. 31, told me that if Duterte faced the Senate again, she would no longer condone his endless cussing.
She would move to have Duterte cited in contempt, she said, pointing out that former presidents don’t enjoy immunity whether from criminal indictment or being cited in contempt for disrespecting the Senate.
Over the weekend, however, Pimentel said the subcommittee has no contempt powers.
The House quad comm has that power. But probably because it is still hoping to also question Duterte, the joint panel is less certain about how it would deal with the former president in case he peppers his statements with PI, as he did at the Senate.
Quad comm co-chair Benny Abante told “Storycon” on One News last week that they would likely just raise a “point of order,” which could lead to a brief suspension of the hearing.
But what if Duterte apologizes for his foul mouth – as he did to Hontiveros – and then merrily spew PIs again? Would the quad comm gag him, or drag him away? Why invite him then, in the first place?
Even Abante is stumped; he said they would cross the bridge when they get there.
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In the meantime, the quad comm thinks enough stuff has been unearthed for the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation of extrajudicial killings related to Duterte’s war on drugs.
The International Criminal Court has also received the transcript of the Blue Ribbon hearing, and it doesn’t need Senate certification, according to former senator Antonio Trillanes. Pimentel had told Storycon that if any entity wanted to use the transcript as evidence, it would need Senate certification. He’s unsure though if this would be given by senators if requested by the ICC.
The ICC is already far ahead in its probe of possible murder as a crime against humanity in Duterte’s crackdown on drugs. Whether the ICC will manage to get custody of Duterte, however, remains to be seen.
Despite the increasingly ugly warfare between the Dutertes and the Marcos-Romualdez clan, President Marcos seems unenthusiastic about handing over his predecessor to the ICC, even through the Interpol – a scenario that has been implied by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
BBM wouldn’t even pick a fight with VP Sara over her threat to dig up his father’s remains and toss them into the West Philippine Sea. He probably remembers that without the Dutertes, the remains would still be stuck in a refrigerated crypt in Ilocos Norte.
In this controversy, martial law victims are still asking what the dictator’s remains are doing in the heroes’ cemetery in the first place.
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The ICC probe of drug killings includes a period when VP Sara was mayor of Davao City. Some reports have raised the possibility of her inclusion among those who might be covered by ICC arrest warrants.
Again, no one can tell how the current administration will react to ICC arrest warrants for a former Philippine president, his daughter the VP and his top aides.
Criminal indictments in the Philippines are more likely, and may cover crimes against humanity, if only to prove to the world that the justice system in the country is working, thank you.
If local prosecution is initiated for genocide-related offenses, there could be a strong lobby from politically influential quarters to finish the proceedings in the Philippines first before handing over Duterte, et al, to the ICC.
We know that these proceedings may drag on for 25 years, with no certainty that anyone will be convicted with finality, or will land in prison even if convicted. The cases might even be tossed out by the courts for “inordinate delay” – the current go-to excuse for clearing accused plunderers.
Snail-paced justice will sustain support from a segment of the population for extrajudicial short cuts in eliminating criminal elements. The killings will continue, although to a lesser extent.
Duterte himself seems confident that he can get away with everything, thanks to sheer old age. We have enough high-profile examples of such notorious immortals in our midst.
We could be left clutching nothing but memories of the blockbuster congressional hearings. And eventually the memories will fade away.
There must be ways of seeing to it that these awful scenarios won’t materialize.