Bato opposes opening Senate drug probe transcript to public

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald dela Rosa has opposed the move of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to make public the transcript of its drug war investigation, where former president Rodrigo Duterte admitted to having a death squad.

The senator said he would question the directive of Senate President Francis Escudero to make the drug war hearing records public, even to prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“That depends on the Senate leadership. But if they submit the records to the ICC, I will try to ask him: why are you submitting to the ICC when we do not recognize its jurisdiction?” Dela Rosa said in a press briefing at the Senate yesterday.

Dela Rosa renewed his opposition to participating in ICC proceedings investigating Duterte and the former top cop for crimes against humanity.

The senator reminded his colleagues that the administration of President Marcos is firm in not rejoining the Rome Statute that created the ICC, saying the ICC investigation of the narcotics crackdown violates the country’s sovereignty.

“I am not saying this because I am an accused before the ICC. But my view is that the legislature, although a co-equal branch of government, should follow the same line of the executive. We should take the cue from the President, being the chief architect of foreign policy,” Dela Rosa said.

But if the Senate allows the public to request for copies of the records, such as a certified true copy of the transcript, Dela Rosa said the Blue Ribbon committee should find out the motive of the requesting party.

“We should ask – what is the purpose for requesting a certified true copy? Who is asking and for what? They should not be mechanical about it. We should question their purpose,” Dela Rosa said.

“And if they say it is for the ICC, the committee should deny the request. Giving this copy to the ICC is tantamount to recognizing their jurisdiction over us,” he added.

Dela Rosa denied being worried that the records of the drug war hearing - where Duterte admitted to having a death squad composed of gangsters in Davao City against suspected criminals – would bolster their crimes against humanity case before the ICC.

“I am not worried. But we should all be in sync about it. When Malacañang said we should not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, we should do the same as a country. We should unite about it,” said the senator.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who presided over the subcommittee hearing, said the records should be made public for the scrutiny of rights groups and nongovernment organizations.

Escudero, for his part, said the records of the public hearing cannot be kept secret, even from the ICC.