Pimentel tapped to lead Senate drug war probe

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III —Senate Social Media Unit

MANILA, Philippines — Days after he ruled out the possibility of either Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa or Christopher “Bong” Go heading a Senate inquiry into the drug war killings under the previous administration, Senate President Francis Escudero announced on Sunday that he had tapped Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III for the task.

“The investigation will be led by the blue ribbon committee of which the [chairperson] is Sen. Pia Cayetano. But since she will be busy during the recess being a reelectionist, the task may be assigned to Sen. Koko Pimentel as a subcommittee chair,” Escudero said in a radio interview over dzBB.

READ: Hontiveros: Senate drug war probe would ‘complement’ House investigation

He explained that the task was given to the blue ribbon committee because, under Senate rules, it is the only panel authorized to initiate an inquiry without a referral from members.

READ: Escudero: Dela Rosa must not lead drug war probe to avoid charge of bias

“We had discussed in the plenary about this observation that whenever Congress is on recess, the power of the committee on rules to refer a matter to the appropriate committee is hijacked,” Escudero said.

The Senate leadership merely reiterated the rule that only the blue ribbon committee could launch an investigation motu proprio (at its initiative), he added.

“This power is not available to all committees, which would have allowed Senator Bato to conduct hearings during the recess,” Escudero said.

In a Viber message, Pimentel clarified that while he was willing to preside over the inquiry, the matter has yet to be officially referred to him by the Senate leadership.

“The subcommittee has not yet been established. I will meet my staff [on Monday] to discuss all the questions being raised,” he said.

Escudero told reporters last Thursday that he had told Dela Rosa it would be better for either him or Go not to head the Senate inquiry to avoid questions of impartiality and fairness.

During the Oct. 11 hearing of the House quad committee, which has been investigating the thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under the previous administration, retired Police Col. Royina Garma implicated former President Rodrigo Duterte and Go, then the special assistant to the President, in the implementation of the government’s drug war, which was patterned after the “Davao model.”

According to Garma, the Davao model referred to a system of payments and rewards under which police officers involved in the antidrug campaign received funding for planning operations, monetary rewards for killing drug suspects and reimbursements for operational expenses.

Dela Rosa, who served as Philippine National Police chief under Duterte, said there was no such reward system—a sentiment echoed by Go who also said he had nothing to do with the drug war.

Escudero said he had discussed with Cayetano and Pimentel the need to “coordinate” with Dela Rosa and Go about the possible witnesses they want to invite to the upcoming hearings.

Not retaliation

The Senate chief also dismissed speculation that the Senate investigation was aimed at allowing Duterte’s allies in the chamber to retaliate against witnesses in the House quad committee hearings who had made damning exposés against the former president as well as Dela Rosa and Go.

“To me, that is not a form of retaliation. I see it as [their] right and duty as elective officials to present their side… on the issues being hurled against them,” Escudero said.

Neither Go nor Dela Rosa has expressed interest in appearing before the quad committee to defend themselves, although Duterte earlier said he would go should he receive an invitation.

In response, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs, one of the four panels looking into EJKs, invited Duterte to the resumption of their hearing on Oct. 22.

In a letter dated Oct. 18, Barbers said the former president could “provide valuable insights and shed light on the issues under discussion, particularly on extrajudicial killings.”

Duterte has yet to respond as of Sunday.

Doubtful Du30 will attend

Manila Rep. Benny Abante, the quad committee’s cochair, told the Inquirer, “We expect him to explain to us his war on drugs, if indeed he believes there were EJKs and if he knows anything about the reward system.”

But former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares and lawyer Kristina Conti, cocounsels for the families of drug war victims in a case filed against the former president before the International Criminal Court, do not think Duterte would show up.

“It’s good if he attends so that the families of his victims will be able to confront him,” Colmenares said. “But I think Duterte will not attend. He will not be able to answer the questions if he attends.”

Conti said the same thing, adding that the former president would avoid being caught lying under oath.

“But if, however, in a lucid moment he does attend and speaks on the record, we wish he would talk about ‘how’ and ‘why,’ she added.