Bato to launch motu proprio probe into war on drugs; Duterte to be invited

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Wednesday said that he will launch a motu proprio investigation into the war on drugs with former President Rodrigo Duterte as one of their resource persons.

Dela Rosa, chairperson of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said this after Senator Bong Go mentioned that he is willing to file a resolution to launch a probe into the matter parallel to the investigation by the House quad committee.

"Definite na 'yan during the break. Motu proprio muna habang di pa na-refer sa akin 'yung [resolution] ni Senator Bong Go (It is definite that I will conduct it during the break. It will be motu proprio while waiting for the resolution that will be filed by Go)," Dela Rosa said in a phone interview with reporters.

Asked if he will invite Duterte in the Senate probe, the senator said, "Ipapatawag natin at kung sinu-sino pang Cabinet member niya noon na pwede nating magiging resource person (We will invite him and his Cabinet members who can be resource persons)."

Dela Rosa, former chief of the Philippine National Police, said he has yet to inform Duterte about the proposed Senate investigation, but he is confident that the former president will attend the parallel probe in the Upper Chamber.

"Wala pa, pero malaking posibilidad na mag-attend siya kung kami mag-imbita. Mukhang mas komportable siya dito sa Senado kesa Lower House (I have yet to tell him but the possibility that he will attend is bigger if the invitation will be coming from us. It seems that he is more comfortable in the Senate than in the Lower House)," he said.

"I don't think na hindi siya mag-attend kung ako ang mag-imbita (I don't think that he will not attend if I will invite him)," he added.

For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said it is "essential" to include Duterte in the planned Senate investigation to "ensure justice and transparency" in the proceedings.

Estrada said it is not the first time that a former president has been invited to the Senate, citing the case of his own father, former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

"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," he said.

"Mahalaga na mabigyan ng boses ang lahat lalo na kung ang layunin ng imbestigasyon ay linawin ang mga hakbang na ginawa ng nakaraang administrasyon," he added.

(It is important to give everyone a chance to speak, especially if the purpose of the investigation is to clarify the steps taken by the former administration.)

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel said the Senate must find time for the war on drugs investigation, considering the number of people who died because of it.

"Dapat hanapan ng time sa dami ng namatay dyan sa war on drugs (The Senate must find time for this considering the huge number of deaths in the war on drugs). The victims, including the grieving families, are entitled to serious time and attention coming from senators," he said.

On whether Dela Rosa should preside over the investigation, Pimentel said "we will leave this to the wisdom of the Senate president and the plenary."

On Monday, Senator Bong Go floated the idea of conducting a parallel Senate investigation into the Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

Go, a former aide and a loyal ally of Duterte, raised this amid what he called "baseless accusations" raised against him, the former president, and 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, Garma 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.

The PNP earlier said it would reopen the investigation into several cold cases of local officials killed at the height of the Duterte administration's violent campaign against narcotics. 

Malacañang on Wednesday said it supports the possible reopening of investigation into the high-profile killings related to the drug war.

''Of course. The reopening of the investigations of the high killings related to the war on drugs should indicate that the Marcos administration places the highest importance on the fair dispensation of justice and on the universal observance of the rule of law in the country,'' Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a message when asked on the matter.

Manila Representative Benny Abante, House human rights panel chairperson, for his part, questioned Dela Rosa’s fairness in conducting the investigation.

“Hindi [siya] magiging fair. He became the [chief] of the Philippine National Police during the time of the former president. So, I would think that he would be more biased than actually balanced in that hearing,” he said in a press conference.

Abante then said such initiative of Dela Rosa cannot be pulled off by a lone crusader.

“I really do not know if most of the senators would agree to it. That’s just a word of one senator. We still have to wait until that time,” he added.

As this developed, Abante said that the Quad Committee will also invite former President Duterte to face the drug war deaths probe as the need arises.

“Definitely, we’re going to invite the former President. I [just] don't know when. For me, if we're going to invite the former president, we won’t invite too many resource persons so he could, he is able to freely say his piece,” he said.

“Mahirap naman kung marami iyong iimbitahan namin at maghihintay siya ng matagal [bago makapagsalita]. We don’t want that to happen,” Abante added.

(It won’t be ideal if we have so many resource persons and the former president will have to wait for a long time to speak.)

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 much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.

In 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), after the tribunal started a probe into his drug war.

To recall, the 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.—with a report from Llanesca T. Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News