House, Senate joint probe on Duterte-era drug war killings eyed

A joint Senate and House of Representatives probe on the drug war killings during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte was proposed by a House leader on Monday.

House Quad Committee lead chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers made the suggestion amid the call of Duterte allies, Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Bong Go, for the Senate to conduct a parallel probe on drug war slays.

“If Senate has one, and the House has one, eh bakit hindi na lang natin pag-isahin, like the bicameral conference committee [that reconciles differences in the bills passed by the Senate and House]. I think mas malawak, mas komprehensibo [ang resulta],” Barbers said in a press conference.

(Why not conduct a joint inquiry? It would cover more bases and be more comprehensive.)

“At siyempre, mas maraming mga intelligent questions na maitatanong ang mga miyembro nitong committee,” he added.

 (Of course, more intelligent questions will be fielded by committee members.)

He said it would also be like the day when the President delivers his or her State of the Nation Address before a joint session of Congress.

“Sa tingin ko, priority ito [dapat ng mga mambabatas. Kaya kung uunahin nila 'yung personal na interest sa pamamagitan ng pagsabi na may kampanya kaya wala sila [sa imbestigasyon]....isa sa kanilang mandato ay itong ating ginagawang conducting an investigation in aid of legislation,” Barbers said when asked of the feasibility of the proposal given that Congress only has one regular session left which will end by February next year due to the start of the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections.

(I think this should be the priority of the lawmakers. If they are going to put their personal interest first and say that they will not be able to attend as they will be campaigning...one of our mandates is also to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.)

“This is our job,” Barbers added.

Responding to this idea, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero hinted that it may not be possible under existing rules.

"Unfortunately, we have no provision in our rules providing for such a 'joint investigation,'" Escudero said in a text message to reporters.

Contempt for Duterte? 

The House QuadComm has already officially sent an invitation for Duterte to attend the probe.

But will the Quad Committee go as far as citing the former president in contempt and order his detention if his answers are deemed not responsive.

"It’s up to him to be present tomorrow and it's up to his answers and his actuation during the hearing,” House QuadComm co-chair and Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Stephen Paduano said during the same press conference.

He said that while the QuadComm will give Duterte due courtesy, it was not a guarantee of sparing him from contempt.

"I cannot, the committee personally, I cannot assure that. But one thing for sure, we will afford him the due courtesy his office should be afforded," he said.

“Hindi ko puwede pangunahan ang dating Pangulo (I don’t want to preempt the former President). I want to see what will happen tomorrow,” he added.

Legislative committees, like QuadComm, have authority to cite a resource person in contempt and order his or her detention for lying and being evasive with answers during an inquiry.

Duterte has been tagged by at least two inmates of ordering the killing of three Chinese citizens convicted of drug charges inside a Davao City prison in August 2016.

Kerwin Espinosa, who has been linked to the illegal drug trade, also told the QuadComm that he believes Duterte issued a kill order on his father, former Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was slain while while detained in a jail in Leyte in 2016.

Likewise,  Police Colonel Jovie Espenido also testified before the QuadComm that police were required to visit 50 to 100 households of suspected drug users and traffickers a day and were rewarded P100,000 for successful drug busts during the Duterte administration. 

Ex-police officer and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, for her part, also revealed that Duterte asked her to look for an officer who would implement the “Davao model” of the war on drugs on a national scale, a system that rewarded police officials of P20,000 to P1 million per drug suspect killed. 

Duterte’s former spokesperson and lawyer Salvador Panelo earlier denied that killing is part of the policy of the previous administration and the Davao model is just Garma’s imagination.—AOL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News