Pimentel: No politics in Blue Ribbon probe into Duterte drug war

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who is set to lead the Senate hearings on the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs, on Sunday said he will be impartial and not mix politics into the investigation.

Pimentel, who is the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee chairman, said that while rules on the hearing are still yet to be finalized, the committee will focus on determining whether or not there was a state policy to kill those involved in illegal drugs.

“I’m really objective and I’m fair, and then I will follow the evidence. Hindi ko hahaluan ng politika ‘to, so ebidensya lang po tayo [I will not mix politics with this, so we will just follow evidence],” he said in a report by Saleema Refran on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“The war on drugs, the 6,000 to 30,000 alleged victims, and then was there really a state policy na patayin ang mga involved sa drugs [to kill those involved in drugs]? ‘Yun po ang ating ide-determine [That is what we will determine],” he added.

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.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the Blue Ribbon Committee was chosen by senators, as agreed upon by Senators Ronald “Bato’ dela Rosa and Christopher Bong Go, close allies and part of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Blue Ribbon Committee lamang at hindi lahat ng komite upang mapagbigyan ‘yung nais sana ni Senator Bato na mag-hearing habang recess kami,” Escudero said in the same report.

(Just the Blue Ribbon Committee and not all committees, to give way to Senator Bato wants to have a hearing while we are in recess.)

Senator Pia Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, is seeking another term in the upper chamber in the 2025 midterm elections.

The Committee said it is prepared to call on resource persons that the members want to invite, including former President Duterte, and will respect the attendance of both dela Rosa and Go as senators.

This comes as the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) conduct a joint investigation on the Duterte drug war.

“‘Pag may makita tayong link ng kahit sino [If we see anyone with a link], including the former President, then so be it. We will include them to the charges if the evidence warrants,” PNP-CIDG director Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III said.

“Basta’t wala tayong sinasanto [Nobody will be above the law]. We're not letting go of cold cases kasi walang katahimikan hanggang walang hustisya [because there is no peace while there is no justice],” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News