Bato confirms ex-Pres. Duterte's attendance at Senate probe into drug war

Former president Rodrigo Duterte will attend the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the war on drugs during his administration, Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa reiterated on Saturday.

"Yes confirmed," Dela Rosa told GMA News Online in a message when asked if Duterte has confirmed attendance on Monday.

This was after Dela Rosa posted a photo on Facebook on Friday showing him having dinner with the former president, his partner Honeylet Avanceña, and former speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Dela Rosa, Duterte's loyal ally and the ex-president's chief implementer of his war on drugs, on Tuesday said the former president gave him the assurance that he will attend the Senate blue ribbon committee's investigation.

"The former President told me that he is going to attend the Senate hearing regardless of who is presiding," Dela Rosa told reporters in a Viber message.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III however on Thursday said Duterte's presence on Monday was still unsure because he was having second thoughts.

The Senate investigation into the killings being linked to the government's war on drugs is set to start on Monday, October 28, Pimentel III earlier said.

Dela Rosa and Senator Christopher "Bong" Go had asked the Senate to conduct the probe which will be done parallel to the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) investigation.

Aside from Duterte, also invited to the Senate investigation are retired Police Colonel Royina Garma, former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, former Senator Leila de Lima, Kerwin Espinosa, and the families of drug war victims, Pimentel added.

The Senate probe will be fast-tracked since plenary debates on the proposed 2025 national budget will be held starting November 4 during the body's session.

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Tuesday said that Duterte will be given due courtesy should he attend the blue ribbon committee's investigation into his administration's war on drugs.

The House QuadComm conducted several hearings into the Duterte administration's war on drugs and invited Duterte to attend.

However, he did not attend the October 22 House Quad Committee hearing since he was feeling under the weather, Duterte's legal counsel Martin Delgra III said.

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. —with a report from Hana Bordey/KG, GMA Integrated News