SENATE President Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday rebuked whom he described as “defenders” of former President Rodrigo Duterte for dismissing as a “joke” the latter’s admissions made under oath during last week’s hearing of the Senate blue ribbon sub-committee.
In an interview with dzBB radio, Escudero said the former chief executive did not seem to be joking when he said under oath that he formed a seven-man death squad whom he ordered to kill people involved in illegal drugs when he was still the mayor of Davao City.
He also pointed out that the former president was neither laughing nor smiling when he said that the former chiefs of police of Davao City have been involved in the killing of criminals, and when he declared that he encouraged cops to provoke illegal drug suspects to fight back to justify their killing.
During the hearing, he said Duterte also repeatedly said that he was “not joking” when he made his statements.
“Bakit ba ang sagot ng mga tagapag-tanggol nila palagi sa mga binibitawang salita ay joke, symbolism, colloquy? Ano ba yun? Hindi ba maaaring kapag tinatanong sila ay sumagot ng diretso dahil ‘yun naman talaga ‘yung interpretasyon ng ating mga kababayan (Why are Duterte’s defenders telling us that what he said [during the hearing] were only jokes, symbolism, or colloquy? Why do they keep on saying that? Can they not answer the questions directly?),” Escudero said.
“Hindi naman siya (Duterte) ‘yung nagsabi na joke iyon, colloquy iyon, symbolism iyon. Ang nagsasabi ay iyong mga tagapag-tanggol lamang niya (He [Duterte] was not the one who said that what he said were just jokes, colloquy, or symbolism. It was only his defenders who said that),” he also said.
While not naming names, Escudero could be referring to the statements of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who was once a Davao City police chief, that the former president was “only joking” when he made the statement about the involvement of Davao City’s former chiefs of police involvement in extrajudicial killings.
Escudero said it is not for him to evaluate Duterte’s testimony, and that he is leaving it to Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, the sub-committee chairman, to make his assessment when he comes up with his committee report.
He said it is best to just read the transcript of last week’s hearing so the public can assess Duterte’s testimony without seeing his reactions or actions when he made his revelations.
Escudero said the transcript of the October 28 can be accessed by anyone in the Senate website.
“Maski nga ang Korte Suprema kapag-nagre-review ng mga death penalty cases, transcript na lamang ang binabasa nila. Hindi nila nakikita ‘yung mga tume-testigo kung umiiyak na siya, galit ba siya, kapani-paniwala ba siya, transcript na lamang at naka-base doon ‘yung kanilang pagpasya kung habang buhay nga ba ikukulong ang isang tao o hindi
(Even the Supreme Court, when reviewing death penalty cases, uses transcripts in coming up with decisions. They cannot see if the witnesses are crying, angry, or if they are credible since their decisions are only based on the transcripts),” he said.
He said there is no need for the Senate to formally furnish the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a copy of the transcript since it, like other interested parties, can download it from the Senate website.
He said the transcript will also be made accessible on the Senate’s various social media accounts.
“Kung may maghihingi, ICC man o kung sinuman o kung kayo man na i-certify ‘yung transcript, wala akong nakikitang dahilan para hindi i-certify ‘yan ng blue ribbon committee basta yung dahilan o rason ay justifiable o may kapaki-pakinabang, hindi yung kung sinu-sino lang na wala naman talagang silbi o paggagamitan (If there is someone who will ask for it, whether the ICC or whoever, a certified copy of the transcript, I see no reason why the blue ribbon committee will not do it as long as the reasons are justified and useful and will not be used for some other useless reasons),” he also said.
He said the cuss words of Duterte during the sub-committee hearing will remain as part of the records unless it will be voted upon by the committee members to strike them off the record.
“Kung istriktong susundan natin ang rules ng Senado, hanggang hindi yan pinapa-strike at nanalo yung mosyon na yun, mananatili yan doon — mabaho man pakinggan o hindi, masakit man sa tainga o hindi (If we will not strictly follow the Rules of the Senate, those cuss words will remain on record until such time when a member make a motion to strike them off. But if the motion is not carried, it will remain there – no matter how bad they are to hear),” he added.
