Koko Pimentel: Parallel Senate probe on Duterte drug war 'a good idea'

Although it is "optional," Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said conducting a parallel Senate investigation into the war on drugs is a "good idea" so the credibility of the witnesses could be tested.

"That is optional but looks like a good idea to me because it will give us the opportunity to ask cross examination questions to test the credibility of the witnesses," Pimentel said in a text message to reporters.

On Monday, Senator Bong Go, a former aide and a loyal ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte floated the idea of conducting a parallel Senate investigation into the previous administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

Go raised this amid what he called "baseless accusations" raised against him, Duterte, and former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa in the ongoing House Quadcomm investigation into the matter.

The senator said he would file a resolution calling for such an investigation "if necessary."

Last week, Royina Garma, former PNP official and PCSO general manager, testified in a QuadComm hearing that Duterte wanted to implement a "Davao model" of the war on drugs on a national scale. Duterte is a former Davao City mayor.

Garma said this system involves rewards, including prize money that ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, for drug suspects killed.

Go denied the existence of such system and refuted claims that he was involved in handling the money for the supposed rewards. He described Garma's claims as "unsubstantiated."

Dela Rosa also said he knows nothing about the supposed "reward system" in the killing of drug suspects during the previous administration.

According to human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, more than 20,000 people were killed in the drug war based on the 2017 year-end accomplishment report of the Duterte administration.

Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and say that the number may have reached as high as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.

In 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into Duterte's drug war.

To recall, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in January 2023 authorized the reopening of an inquiry into Duterte’s war on drugs.

The ICC Appeals Chamber in July 2023 also denied the government’s plea against the resumption of the inquiry, prompting numerous government officials to speak against continued engagement with the ICC.—AOL, GMA Integrated News