Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. — MALACAÑANG FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will not be fair if the Senate investigates the alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration as he supposedly got a quick promotion at the time, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Abante was asked if he thinks dela Rosa would be fair should the Senate check on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Dela Rosa was the first Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the Duterte administration, and he was behind Oplan Tokhang, a portmanteau of Visayan words “toktok” or “to knock” and “hangyo” or “to plead.”
“No. Well, you know, the thing is he became the Director General of the [PNP] during the time of the former president,” said Abante, co-chairperson of the House of Representatives’ quad committee probing the drug war.
“Just imagine, he was only a brigadier general, and then all of a sudden, he got additional stars and eventually became a director general,” he added.
Abante, however, does not see any problem if the Senate will also investigate the drug war.
It was Sen. Bong Go, Duterte’s former special assistant, who said that he wanted the Senate to probe the Duterte administration’s drug war.
READ: Bong Go wants Senate to probe Duterte admin’s drug war
“Very good. In fact, the Bible says two is better than one. With that, we will have a partner in the Senate, when it comes to investigation,” Abante said.
Asked about Duterte’s possible attendance at the Senate probe, Abante said it would be up to the former president.
Earlier, Dela Rosa said Duterte would be called into a separate drug war probe that would be initiated during the session break.
“Well it it’s up to him actually although he (Duterte) has indicated that he will face it if he is invited. So for us, that’s okay. Hopefully, he will come and clear the air and say what he would like to say,” Abante said.
At the House quad committee’s hearing last Friday, Oct. 11, retired police colonel and trusted Duterte ally Royina Garma revealed that there was a rewards system in the drug war. She said police officers who killed drug suspects were given monetary grants ranging from P20,000 to P1 million.
She also submitted an affidavit stating that there were three modes of payment — first, for every suspect killed; second for the planned operations; and third, the refund of operational expenses.
According to Garma, Duterte contacted her to find someone who would head the task force — someone who was from the Iglesia ni Cristo, and someone who had experience in operations.
Garma said she recommended former police colonel Edilberto Leonardo, her upperclassman in the Philippine National Police Academy.
Leonardo allegedly conducted briefings for PNP and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chiefs regarding the drug war approach, according to Garma.
She also said Leonardo reported incidents to Go “for inclusion in his weekly report and requests for refunds of operational expenses.”
READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH
Go and Dela Rosa have denied involvement in the scheme that Garma revealed.
READ: Dela Rosa denies knowledge of ‘Davao drug war template’, rewards system
READ: Bong Go denies involvement in drug war, rewards system
Currently, several cases were filed against Duterte and his officials before the International Criminal Court, for allegedly committing mass murder, a crime against humanity.
Official government numbers show that 6,235 individuals were killed during legitimate anti-drug operations, but several human rights defenders believe the number could be well between 12,000 to 30,000.
Last June 5, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said the Office of the President under Duterte listed 20,322 drug war-related deaths among its accomplishments in 2017.
READ: Diokno: Duterte’s OP listed 20,322 drug-war deaths as accomplishments