'A platform for the accused': Groups question Senate's drug war probe
MANILA, Philippines — As the Senate opened its probe into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs on Monday, October 28, two organizations representing victims of extrajudicial killings questioned the hearing's impartiality.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), represented by human rights lawyers Neri Colmenares and Kristina Conti, said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee includes members facing allegations alongside Duterte.
“Today, as an investigation into the ‘war on drugs’ by the Senate opens, we are aghast that it has become a platform for those involved and accused,” the statement read.
They were referring to Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s former special assistant when he was president, and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, his police chief and the drug war architect.
The House Quad Committee, which was the first to conduct a congressional probe into the EJKs, revealed through testimonies from police lieutenants appointed by Duterte that Go and Dela Rosa are allegedly involved in the bloody war on drugs and the reward system for every killed drug suspect.
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During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s first hearing on Monday, Go devoted over 15 minutes in his opening speech to defend himself and Duterte against the allegations.
This is contradictory to Go’s statement in an interview on Sept. 24, 2019, where he said that a reward would be given to those who kill "ninja cops," referring to police officers involved in the illegal drug trade.
“I think he will personally announce to the public kung sino po yung sangkot na ito. At importante po na si pangulo ang magsasabi. Sabi niya, karapatan po ng Pilipino malaman kung sino po ang ninja cops. Nabanggit din po niya, nandyan pa rin po ‘yung reward na kanyang sinabi noon. P1 million sa mga ninja cops patay. ‘Pag buhay, kalahating milyon lang po. ‘Pag lumaban, P2 million,” Go said.
(I think he will personally announce to the public who is involved in this. It is important for the president to make this statement. He said that it is the right of the Filipino people to know who the ninja cops are. He also mentioned that the reward he spoke of before is still in place: P1 million for dead ninja cops, half a million if they are alive, and P2 million if they fight back.)
However, Go maintained that his statement had nothing to do with the war on drugs.
"Hindi po war on drugs 'yun. Kung papanoorin niyo po ang full video, hindi ko po tinutukoy ang reward system sa war on drugs dito. Tungkol 'yan sa pagtugis sa ninja cops," he said.
(That was not about the war on drugs. If you watch the full video, I was not referring to the reward system of the war on drugs. It was about pursuing the ninja cops.)
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa appeared irritable and frustrated, raising his voice for much of the hearing as resource persons explained how the police failed to investigate numerous EJK cases. Many times, he merely defended himself from allegations.
The former police chief even accused one resource person of using these EJK cases as propaganda against the government, questioning why they had not reported the lack of investigation to the police.
Colmenares and Conti said in the statement that the two senators’ behavior “raises significant questions over the independence and effectiveness” of the Senate inquiry. Similar to the worries of House lawmakers, the hearing might “serve as a whitewash,” they added.
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“Senators Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go and Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa had neither the decency nor discretion to inhibit themselves, despite persistent and credible allegations of their participation in the whole scheme of things,” the lawyers said.
Rise Up and NUPL concluded in their statement that Duterte’s absence at the House Quad Comm’s hearings exhibits his “imprudence and impertinence” towards the lower chamber.
“His presence at the Senate today, alongside those alleged to be his henchmen or supporters, is sinister,” they added.
The former president, according to his legal counsel, excused himself from the House hearing on October 22 because he was feeling under the weather. Duterte also said that he prefers to attend after November 1.
However, Duterte was seen attending the Senate’s probe on October 28, throwing curse words in almost every sentence and interrupting senators and resource persons as they spoke.
Duterte also claimed that he should be held accountable for leading the drug war, rather than the police officers who “only followed his orders,” though he expressed no remorse over the extrajudicial killings committed.
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