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The question now is: will Senate President Chiz Escudero allow Senator Bato dela Rosa to use the upper chamber to further his agenda?
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa remains firm in his decision not to attend the House probe into extrajudicial killings that happened under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, when he served as police chief.
The irony is that he plans to conduct his own probe into the drug war, of which he was considered the chief architect and which resulted in thousands of deaths.
“Ipapatawag natin (We will invite him),“ Dela Rosa told reporters on Wednesday, October 16, when asked if the Senate committee on public order, chaired by him, would invite the former president.
The senator said that the probe might start while the Senate is on break. “If possible, kahit na ngayong break. Motu propio muna habang hindi pa na-refer sa akin ‘yung resolution ni Senator Bong Go.”
(If possible, even during this break. Let’s address it motu proprio while the resolution from Senator Bong Go hasn’t been referred to me yet.)
Go, the closest aide of Duterte before he became senator, had expressed his intent to file a resolution seeking the Senate’s own probe into the Duterte administration’s drug war.
The Senate is currently on break, with sessions set to resume on November 4. However, senators can still hold committee hearings during this break.
While he hasn’t yet informed the former president of his plans about his own probe, Dela Rosa is confident that he will be able to bring Duterte to the Senate.
“Malaking posibilidad na mag-attend siya kung kami mag-imbita. Mukhang mas komportable siya dito sa Senado kay sa Lower House,” he said. (There’s a strong possibility that he will attend if we invite him. He seems more comfortable here in the Senate than in the Lower House.)
At the House probe last week, retired police colonel Royina Garma directly implicated the former president in the extrajudicial killings carried out by the police during his administration.
Garma said that Duterte called her to a meeting in May 2016, in which she was told “he needed someone capable of implementing the war on drugs on a national scale, replicating the Davao model.”
Under the Davao template, there were at least three levels in the payment system:
- First, if a suspect is killed
- Second, when planned operations are funded, also called “COPLANS”
- Third, when cops’ operational expenses are refunded
Dela Rosa denied the existence of the supposed Davao template. “I have no idea on that. There was none,” he said.
When Senator Migz Zubiri was Senate president, he had warned Dela Rosa to stop using hearings for personal political gain and persecution, particularly when Dela Rosa used his panel to probe President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s alleged involvement in illegal drugs. Zubiri believes this misuse of power ultimately cost him his leadership position. The Senate dismissed the allegations of the President’s drug use as hearsay. Zubiri was replaced by Senate President Chiz Escudero in May.
Dela Rosa, who is seeking reelection, had said that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the infamous campaign is a “grand demolition job against us, Duterte, and his allies.”
“I leave it up to the people. The people know very well what is the real score,” Dela Rosa said, when asked if the ongoing ICC probe would affect his Senate bid.
Dela Rosa also confirmed that his office has received communications from the ICC, but admitted that he is ignoring the international body.
The ICC investigation is now at a stage where Prosecutor Karim Khan can request a warrant of arrest, if he hasn’t already done so. On Monday, October 14, Malacañang announced that the Philippines will not return to the ICC, despite calls for the government to submit sworn statements made during the House quadcomm hearings to the tribunal.
The question now is: will Escudero allow Dela Rosa to use the Senate to further his agenda? – Rappler.com
