Hontiveros wants Senate Committee of the Whole to probe Duterte drug war

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Thursday proposed to convene the Senate Committee of the Whole amid proposals to investigate the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

This, instead of the investigation which will be led by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs headed by Duterte's former Philippine National Police chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa led the implementation of the war on drugs during the early years of the Duterte administration.

"Ipapanukala ko po sa Senate leadership na magkaroon ng Senate Committee of the Whole kung saan buong Senado ang mag-iimbestiga sa war on drugs ng nakaraang administrasyon," Hontiveros said in a radio interview.

(I will propose to the Senate leadership that a Senate Committee of the Whole be convened, wherein the entire Senate will investigate the war on drugs of the previous administration.)

"Dahil sa pamamagitan niyang Senate Committee of the Whole, umaasa ako na mas panatag at mas maieengganyo rin na sumali at tumestigo ang victim survivors ng war on drugs. Dapat marinig natin sila para malaman natin ang buong katotohanan," she added.

(Through the Senate Committee of the Whole, I expect that the war on drugs' victim survivors will feel more at ease and encouraged to participate and testify. We need to hear them out to know the whole truth.)

A Senate Committee of the Whole is presided over by the Senate president.

Hontiveros said it is also up to the Senate president if they will invite former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Asked about the possible Dela Rosa-led investigation, Hontiveros did not give a direct comment but noted that each senator chairs their own committees.

"Kaming lahat ng senador ay may chine-chair na kani-kaniyang komite. Pero ang kagandahan din po ng Senate Committee of the Whole ay lahat po ng buong Senado ang may pantay-pantay na karapatan na mag-imbestiga sa paksang iyon," she said.

(All senators have our respective committee chairmanships. But the good thing about the Senate Committee of the Whole is that the entire Senate has equal rights to investigate that matter.)

For Senator Imee Marcos, the drug war cases should already be brought to the proper courts instead of holding legislative inquiries into the matter as she pointed out the need for the killings to be resolved.

"'Yung trabaho ng Senate, iba ang trabaho namin sa korte at sa palagay ko maaari na itong dalhin sa korte para matapos na, we can put it behind us. All those who need to be punished, should be punished as quickly as possible and we have to come to an end to this blame saying and finger pointing," Marcos said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum.

(The job of the Senate is different from the job of the court. And I think, these cases could already be filed before the courts so we can already put it behind us.)

"Palagay ko DOJ (Department of Justice) is competent, at this point, to make a case with the help of CIDG, with the help of the NBI. Perhaps prosecution is in order.  Ang tagal na eh at alam naman natin as cases linger, the evidence grows cold, the testimonies become stale and the witnesses disappear. So kinakailangan dalian na talaga," she added.

(I think the DOJ is competent, at this point, to make a case with the help of the CIDG and the NBI. Perhaps, prosecution is in order. It's been a long time and we all know that as the cases linger, the evidence grows cold, the testimonies become stale, and the witnesses disappear. So we need to expedite these cases already.)

While she acknowledges the right of Dela Rosa and Senator Bong Go to defend themselves from the accusations raised against them in relation to the previous administration's drug war, Marcos raised the need to protect the Senate as they might be accused of being "self-serving."

"Kinakabahan ako na masabihan na self-serving, tapos mag-uumpugan lang naman ang ulo ng Congress," she said.

(I am afraid that we might be accused of being self-serving and both Houses of Congress will clash on this matter.)

"Sa totoo lang hindi natin maipagkakaila na napakahalaga ng mga ibinunyag sa [House] Quadcomm, that's a very valuable testimony there...palagay ko there's a great deal of evidence that has already come forward...Lets bring it to court so that 'di masabihan na it's partisan or self-serving or otherwise untruthful," she added.

(To be honest, we cannot deny that the revelations and testimonies from the House Quadcomm investigation are very valuable. I think there's a great deal of evidence that has already come forward. Let's bring it to court so that we will not be accused of being partisan, self-serving, or otherwise untruthful.)

Marcos also raised the need to produce new laws or amendments to the laws from this proposed investigation into the war on drugs.

Among the measures that should be proposed in relation to this is the modernization of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the strengthening of the PNP's Internal Affairs Service.

Motu propio investigation

On Thursday, Dela Rosa 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.

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.

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, former police officer Royina Garma testified at the 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.

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. — RSJ/AOL, GMA Integrated News