Ex-Pres. Duterte, Bato should testify before House probe –solons

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and former Philippine National Police chief now-Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should take the opportunity to defend themselves by testifying before the House probe on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO)-related crimes and drug war deaths, lawmakers said Monday.

The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Committee on Human Rights, Committee on Public Order and Safety, and Committee on Public Accounts will hold hearings on alleged POGO crimes and drug war deaths on August 15.

“This [inquiry] is very significant. We can finally discuss these serious concerns which are very grave in nature," said Ako Bicol party-list Representative Jill Bongalon.

"The House has to act on it, and the invitation to attend the probe extended to the former President Duterte and Senator and former PNP Chief dela Rosa is very material. We really need to invite the competent witness or the witnesses, at sila po iyong mga tinuturong mastermind ano, sa mga illegal na gawain sa mga ganitong seryosong krimen.” 

(They are accused of being masterminds behind these crimes.)

“This is an opportunity for them to address this issue by observing the fair play and them explaining their stand,” Bongalon added.

House Assistant Majority Leaders and Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Adiong, for his part, said the former President and dela Rosa should have nothing to hide, to begin with.

“We hope that all of our invited guests will step up to the challenge. This is an opportunity for them to really ventilate their concerns and perhaps to explain to the House and ultimately, the public, who have so many questions regarding illegal drugs and other crimes,” Adiong said.

“This is also an opportunity for them to clear their names. Because first and foremost, this investigation is not directed to any particular individual or personality. This is ultimately to strengthen our laws, to improve our surveillance in terms of fighting transnational crimes, and fighting those aliens who may be doing illegal activities here in the country. This is ultimately run after those aliens who may use our country as their playground to do their illegal activities.”

Bongalon, however, said that the expected absence of Duterte and dela Rosa would not prevent the House probe from coming up with comprehensive and fair findings.

“Their absence is expected, but it won’t decimate the initiative in any way because there are a lot of people who are sending feelers so they can testify,” Bongalon said.

The International Criminal Court was investigating former President Duterte and other top officials of the Duterte administration for alleged crimes against humanity amid the drug war deaths in police operations.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that there were as many as 30,000 deaths, including vigilante killings.

The former Chief Executive, however, insisted that the Philippines was not under ICC jurisdiction due to Manila's unilateral withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019.

But in a separate interview also on Monday, dela Rosa said that the Duterte administration’s drug war followed the rule of law and did not specifically target small-time drug personalities.

"We didn’t discriminate as to who we are going to arrest in our war on drugs. We were not selective in the implementation of the Dangerous Drugs Act. All violators of the law-- drug lords, drug pushers, drug traffickers, drug users were targeted in our anti-drug operations," dela Rosa said in a text message.

GMA News Online reached out to former President Duterte and Senator dela Rosa and will publish their comments as soon as they become available. — DVM, GMA Integrated News