Ex-president invited anew to House hearing
THE Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, or the blue ribbon committee, will lead the Senate investigation on the drug war and related killings during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a recorded phone interview with dzBB radio, Senate president Francis “Chiz” Escudero said a sub-committee, to be led by minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III, will probe the revelations made during the hearings of the quad committee of the House of Representatives, including a supposed system that allegedly involved the grant of monetary rewards to cops who kill drug suspects.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros last week suggested that the Senate Committee of the Whole be convened to investigate the alleged extrajudicial killings related to the previous administration’s campaign against illegal drugs after Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa announced that he would conduct a motu proprio inquiry into the allegations made by former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royima Garma during the House hearings.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday last week filed Senate Resolution No. 1217 directing the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, which is chaired by Dela Rosa, to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on Duterte’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa and Go have been linked by Garma to the alleged reward system in the drug war.
Escudero said the investigation was referred to the blue ribbon committee because it is the only panel that is allowed under the Rules of the Senate to conduct motu proprio hearings when Congress is on recess.
He also said that Pimentel will lead the investigation because panel chairman Sen. Pia Cayetano, who is seeking re-election in the 2025 midterm elections, is pre-occupied.
Escudero has earlier said that neither Dela Rosa nor Go should lead the Senate hearings due to conflict of interest. He has also said that any probe led by the two senators would be seen by the public, especially their critics, as “self-serving.”
Escudero is it is best if the hearings, which will be held parallel to the House quad committee probe, are held while Congress is still on break since senators will be busy discussing the proposed national budget for next year when regular sessions resume on November 4.
QUAD COMM HEARING
The House quad committee has invited Duterte to attend tomorrow the continuation of its hearing on the EJKs even after he snubbed the panel’s previous invitations.
“The Joint Committee respectfully invites you to attend the said inquiry to provide valuable insights and shed light on the issues under discussion particularly on extra-judicial killings,” the October 18 letter signed by overall chair Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said.
The joint panel’s chairmen have repeatedly said that it is up to the former president if he will attend the congressional inquiry or not since the House cannot require him to attend out of parliamentary courtesy extended to a former president like him.
They however strongly urged Duterte to participate in the hearings to tell his side of the story, especially since the families of the victims of summary executions have already given their testimonies to the panel.
Duterte earlier denied Garma’s claim that there was a scheme to reward killers of drug suspects, saying he only congratulated police officers who accomplished their missions and rewarded them with food.
In her affidavit which she read during the last hearing of the quad comm, Garma, who is known for his closeness to Duterte, revealed details about the roles of the former president and Go in overseeing the anti-drug operations.
Garma confirmed the creation of a national task force patterned after the “Davao Model,” which supposedly provided police with financial rewards for killing drug suspects, funding for planned operations, and reimbursement for operational expenses.
Dela Rosa was the PNP chief who implemented the drug war during the early years of the administration while Go was the special assistant to the president then.
Garma has also revealed how she was instructed by Duterte to help find a police officer who could replicate the deadly “Davao Model” nationwide. She said she recommended retired Col. Edilberto Leonardo to lead the task force.
The quad committee – composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts – has been investigating the links between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the proliferation of the illegal drugs trade, the massive property acquisition of some Chinese citizens and the reward system for the killings of drug suspects, which lawmakers have found, have been partly funded by POGO money.
Rep. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog) said Garma’s testimony carries so much weight as it does not only implicate rogue officers in the PNP but the highest officials of the government, including Duterte and Go.
Acidre said the revelations “lay bare what many have feared: that the so-called war on drugs wasn’t just a campaign against crime–it was a state-sanctioned bloodbath.”
“The details we are hearing are appalling, and it is clear that this wasn’t an anti-drug campaign–it was a systematic execution plan with rewards for killings,” he said. “These revelations are shocking, but unfortunately, they aren’t surprising. The Duterte administration was known for its violent rhetoric, but we are now seeing how deeply entrenched this violence was in the institutions themselves.”
Garma has said Leonardo submitted a proposal for the nationwide operation directly to Duterte through Go, detailing the reward system that incentivized killings. Leonardo reportedly kept a close line of communication with Go, ensuring that every fatality was reported and that all operational costs were reimbursed.
“We are talking about a reward system for murder. This isn’t governance; this is criminal,” Acidre added. “The fact that such a system existed–and that it was reported directly to figures like Go–proves that this wasn’t a war on drugs, but a war on the most vulnerable in our society.”
‘AIR THEIR SIDE’
Escudero said the Senate probe will give Dela Rosa and Go the chance to “air their side,” not take “revenge” against anyone who implicated them on the bloody war on drugs.
“Well, hindi paghihiganti ang tingin ko roon. Ang tingin ko roon ay karapatan at obligasyon nila ‘yun bilang mga halal ng bayan na ipakita ‘yung kanilang panig at ipakita ang panig nila ng katotohanan kaugnay sa mga isyung ipinupukol sa kanila (Well, I don’t view it [the Senate hearing] as a revenge. It is their [Dela Rosa and Go]right and obligation as elected officials to present their side of what is true in connection with the accusations hurled against them). They owe nothing less to the public,” he said.
“Para ipak ita naman ‘yung kanilang panig na hindi nabigyan ng pagkakataon sa House hearings (To present their sides which were not given a chance in the House hearings),” he also said.
Escudero, in a radio interview last Saturday, said he sees nothing wrong with Dela Rosa and Go using the Senate investigation as a venue to answer the allegations against them.
He also said the two Duterte allies should not be compelled to attend the ongoing House quad committee hearings in observance of inter-parliamentary courtesy between the two houses of Congress.
‘VERY CHALLENGING TIME’
THE PNP yesterday said it is in a “very challenging time” because of the alleged involvement of several of its officers in EJKs during the Duterte administration, including the killing of retired police general Wesley Barayuga.
In a radio interview, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the only way the police force can recover from the mess is the conduct of a thorough and impartial investigation on these cases.
“This is a very challenging time for the PNP as an institution because of the cases allegedly involving some personnel of the PNP,” said Fajardo, referring to the killings.
“Our chief PNP, Gen. (Rommel Francisco) Marbil said that we owe fidelity to our people, that the only way the PNP can rise from this institutional challenge is for us to be professional in the investigation that we are doing,” she said.
Fajardo said “the PNP has started gathering evidence, we already have the case records (in relation to the killings). In fact, we are ready to file a case in relation to the Wesley Barayuga case.”
She said the PNP is just waiting for the wife of Barayuga and the family of Barayuga’s driver who was injured in the attack to review the complaint and sign the affidavit.
Apart from the Barayuga case, active and retired police officers have been linked to the 2018 killing of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili and 2016 murder of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.
“Our chief PNP has said we are not going to spare anyone in the investigation and filing of charges,” Fajardo said, adding that they will press charges against any policeman who will be found involved in the EJKs.
“No less than our SILG (secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government), Secretary Jovic Remulla, said there will be no sacred cows in the investigation that we are doing. We owe that to the families of the victims, we owe it to the people,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo said that “as an institution, the PNP should come up with a credible investigation this time” because it cannot allow the actions of a few of its officers to destroy the image of the police force.
“That’s the only way for the PNP to rise again as an institution,” she said, adding that “it is important to give justice to the families of the victims and more than that, we have to show to the people that this (extra-judicial killings) is not the norm in our institution.”
Fajardo reiterated that while some police officers have been linked to the EJKs, the PNP did not authorize such actions.
“We have to show that the present administration is not encouraging (extra-judicial killings) and we cannot turn a blind eye on the possibility that some PNP personnel are involved,” she said.
RISKS
A lawyers group yesterday called on witnesses appearing before congressional inquiries to be mindful of their legal rights, especially when they are at risk of being held in contempt and detained.
The Quezon City Trial Lawyers League Inc., through their president, lawyer Victor Rodriquez, pointed to previous jurisprudence issued by the Supreme Court such as in Ong v. Senate where the magistrates noted that the Senate failed to uphold certain limitations, resulting in a violation of witnesses’ rights when invoking its contempt power.
Rodriguez said witnesses in congressional inquiries are only bound to answer or testify based on their personal knowledge of the issue, case or event being asked and not put forward their personal opinions, unless they are called as expert witnesses.
“The witness is required to take an oath to tell the truth based on his personal knowledge of facts. He, therefore, cannot speculate, make conclusions and opinions on the facts unless qualified as an expert,” Rodriguez said, adding that “if he does not have any personal knowledge of the facts in inquiry, he just has to say he has no personal knowledge.”
The group also pointed out that the SC has also ruled that the detention of a witness held in contempt should only continue until the conclusion of the legislative inquiry.
“Moreover, in Balag vs Senate, the Supreme Court ruled that the inquiry would terminate in two instances, namely, upon approval or disapproval of the Committee report, which is within 15 days after the conclusion of the said inquiry, and upon expiration of the Congress,” the group said.
It also cited another SC ruling in Calida vs Trillanes where the magistrates held that determining criminal guilt and conducting law enforcement activities fall outside the purview of Congress.
Lastly, the group said such congressional inquiries must be done in aid of legislation, and that the rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected. — With Wendell Vigilia, Victor Reyes and Ashzel Hachero
