Pimentel: With or without Duterte, drug war probe to push through

The Senate blue ribbon committee will push through with its investigation into the previous administration's war on drugs with or without the attendance of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said Saturday.

“Sa dami naman ng aming imbitadong resource person at witnesses pumunta man si former president Duterte o hindi, tuloy ang hearing,” Pimentel said in a radio program.

(With the number of our invited resource persons and witnesses, whether former president Duterte attends or not, the hearing will push through.)

The Senate blue ribbon committee hearing is set to start on October 28.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has reiterated that Duterte will attend the Senate hearing.

Earlier this week, Duterte once again declined to present himself before the House Quad Committee, which is also investigating the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, as he was not feeling well.

Pimentel, who will preside over the investigation, said the Senate is looking into conducting three to four hearings.

“Depende sa flow. Marami ako di naaaccomoodate na guest sigurado may second hearing na. Puwedeng may spillover, may loose ends [o] may gusto pa itahi, kailangan ko ng third hearing. Sa Duterte admin lang ito, maybe lagyan natin ng three hearings with reasonable time,” Pimentel said.

(It depends on the flow. If we are not able to accommodate many guests, we will have a second hearing. If there are spillovers, loose ends, or things we need to connect, we may need a third hearing. Let’s allot three hearings for the Duterte administration with reasonable time.)

He added that there will be another hearing on the current drug war enforcement should complaints be filed before they make a committee report.

Pimentel also said the Senate hearing will give concerned individuals the opportunity to respond to retired Police Colonel Royina Garma’s claims.

Garma earlier told the House QuadComm 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 where one is rewarded up to P1 million for killing drug suspects.

In her affidavit, Garma claimed Senator Christopher "Bong" Go and former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo were among those involved in the implementation of the reward system.

In a separate affidavit, Garma revealed that the ''Davao Death Squad'' is common knowledge among officers and that she received P20,000 after an "Akyat Bahay" suspect was killed in a police operation.

Pimentel said he plans to finish the probe before the year ends. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/VBL, GMA Integrated News