Families of drug war victims nix Senate probe headed by Bato — lawyer

The families of drug war victims don’t want a Senate investigation that is headed by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, one of the individuals named as a possible suspect in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the war on drugs, lawyer Kristina Conti said Friday.

Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under the Duterte administration. He also served as Davao City police chief when former President Rodrigo Duterte was still a mayor.

“Kasi kung ikaw ‘yung primaryang inaakusahan, sayo nakaturo lahat, biglang magpa imbestiga ka. So ganito kapag lango ka na nga sa kapangyarihan, akala mo kaya mo i-whitewash ang kahit ano,” Conti, ICC assistant to counsel, told Super Radyo dzBB.

(If you are the primary accused, everything is pointing at you, and then you will conduct an investigation. This is what happens when you're drunk with power, you think that you can whitewash everything.)

“Kaya kung mag sa-sarswela lang din naman tayo, mag bo-bodabil, eh wag na lang. Ang tanong din kasi dito, ano ba madadagdag niyo?” she added.

(So if we're just going to make a sarswela out of it, a bodabil, then let's not bother. The question here is, what will you add?)

The senator’s name has repeatedly cropped up during the hearings of the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) into extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

In one of the hearings, alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa accused Dela Rosa of pressuring him to implicate former senator Leila de Lima and businessman Peter Lim into the illegal drug trade, a claim the senator later denied.

Dela Rosa was also earlier named along with four former top PNP officials as possible suspects in the ICC investigation.

On Wednesday, Dela Rosa said that he will launch a motu proprio investigation into the war on drugs with former President Rodrigo Duterte as possibly one of the resource persons.

But Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero said that he has advised Dela Rosa not to lead any investigation into the drug war. Escudero said he will also consult with other senators.

"Well haharapin namin 'yan sa susunod na mga araw, kokonsultahin ko ang ibang mga miyembro pero nakausap ko na si Senator Bato kaugnay niyan at ang sinabi ko sa kanya, anumang imbestigasyon na nais niya't patungkol sa kanya mismo at kay Senator (Bong) Go, mas maganda siguro kung hindi sila manguna ng komiteng 'yun para walang alegasyon na ito ay personal at hindi impartial at hindi fair," Escudero told reporters.

(We will face that in the coming days, I will consult other members although I already spoke with Senator Bato and I told him that for any investigation about him and Senator Go, it's better that they wouldn't lead that committee so there would be no allegation that it is personal, impartial, and unfair.)

Committee of the Whole

Meanwhile, Conti said they were somewhat open to Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros’ proposal to convene the Senate Committee of the Whole to probe the drug war.

However, she reiterated her concern that the information may just be repeated.

“Pwede naman. Kaya lang iniisip namin, importante ano ba yung maidadagdag nilang impormasyon,” she said.

(It's possible. However, we're thinking, what information can you add in this case?)

Conti said more investigations would be better if they were “more fair, impartial, and more widespread.”

Right now, she said they are not seeing any parameters regarding the Senate investigation, adding that it seemed that senators only want to get involved.

“Ang importante sa amin kung may masabi na malinaw na objective itong Senate investigation. Pero kung magiging paraan lang ‘yung Senate investigation para i-whitewash at para suportahan ‘yung dalawang senador na itinuturo, medyo alanangan po kami dito,” Conti said.

(For us, it's important that the Senate investigation has a clear objective. But if the Senate investigation is just a way to whitewash and support the two senators being pointed out, then we're quite concerned about this.)

According to Conti, the ICC, which is seeking to probe the drug war, is a lurker. Philippine officials have repeatedly said that ICC has no jurisdiction in the county.

During Duterte’s term in 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into his 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, claiming that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News