Bato-led Duterte drug war probe could be ‘tainted by doubts’ — congressman

Metro Manila, Philippines — Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez believes that a Senate probe led by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on the Duterte drug war would be “tainted,” with transparency issues bogging down the investigation.

“Karapatan po ng mga senador na mag-conduct po ng kanilang sariling investigation. But ‘yun pong tinatawag na transparency, honesty, and ‘yung maging believable po ‘yung kanila po ico-conduct na hearing, will be tainted by doubts, precisely because they are the ones being accused of,” Fernandez, the House Committee on Public Order and Safety chairperson, told NewsWatch Plus in an interview on Thursday, Oct. 17.

[Translation: It is the right of the senators to conduct their own investigation. But the transparency, honesty, and credibility of the hearing they will conduct will be tainted by doubts, precisely because they are the ones being accused.]

As a former top cop, Dela Rosa was the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.

The lawmaker said prudence dictates that an official should turn over duties to investigate if the issue involves the official himself or herself.

“Kapag nakita natin na magiging sobrang biased because they are the one being investigated, then medyo ang taong bayan ay hindi naniniwala sa ganyan klaseng investigation,” said Fernandez.

[Translation: If we see that it becomes heavily biased because they are the ones being investigated, then the public will not trust that kind of investigation.]

Dela Rosa announced on Wednesday that he will launch a parallel probe on the drug war. Senator Bong Go previously stated that he is considering filing a resolution to call for an investigation, but Dela Rosa he could initiate it based on a related resolution earlier.

The senator added that he will invite former President Rodrigo Duterte to the inquiry.

“Malaking posibilidad na mag attend siya kung kami mag-imbita kasi mas komportable siya dito sa Senado kaysa lower House,” Dela Rosa said.

[Translation: There is a great possibility that he will attend if we invite him, as he feels more comfortable here in the Senate than in the lower House.]

Dela Rosa and Go have been implicated in bombshell testimonies during congressional hearings into extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during anti-drug operations.

Duterte, meanwhile, is primarily being investigated by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in relation to his war on drugs.

“Kasi sa amin (House of Representatives), wala kami masyadong…conflict, we’re not even running for a national position,” Fernandez said. “‘Yong lumalabas na accusations not coming from us, these [were] being manifested, testified, executed ang mga affidavit.”

[Translation: Because at the House of Representatives, we don’t have much conflict, we’re not even running for a national position. The accusations do not come from us, these were being manifested, testified. Affidavits were executed.]

Digging deeper into the ‘reward system’

The House quad committee, where Fernandez sits as co-chairperson, wants to get to the bottom of the links between EJKs, unlicensed offshore gaming, and illegal drugs during Duterte’s term.

At the lower chamber, PCol Royina Garma (ret.), former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager, said the government adopted what she called a “Davao model” of having a “reward system” for the killings.

Fernandez and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, another mega panel co-chairperson, said they will look into confidential and intelligence funds of the presidential office under Duterte if these had been used as a fund source. 

“‘Yung tinatawag po nating utilization of that intelligence fund, ‘yun po ang dapat nating malaman sa COA (Commission on Audit),” Fernandez told NewsWatch Plus. “Siguro we will be inviting them over para at least makita natin kung paano ginamit ito.”

[Translation: We should check the utilization of that intelligence fund with COA. We will be inviting them over to at least see how the expense was used.]

Confidential and intelligence funds, however, are only subjected to lax auditing processes, with specific uses of the funds not usually disclosed to the public.

Another government body that might be summoned is the Anti-Money Laundering Council as Garma said money used for the “reward system” were coursed through the bank accounts of Peter Parungo, a former detainee cleared of a rape charge.

Magnitude of operations

“Gusto natin makita kung ga’no ‘yung magnitude ng elemento ng kanilang operasyon ng extrajudicial killing,” Fernandez said.

[Translation: We want to see the magnitude of the elements of their operations for extrajudicial killing.]

“Actually, meron na kaming report ng 21,000 ng mga killings. At makakapal po ‘yun,” he said.

[Translation: Actually, we have reports of 21,000 killings. They are thick.]

Fernandez said they don’t believe that the operation was implemented in the whole Philippines, but only in certain areas including Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and some in Mindanao.

The lawmaker added the panel wants other police officers to tell their tales following testimonies from Garma, and other cops already present in the hearings.

Official data from the government said there were around 6,000 killings of drug suspects during Duterte’s campaign.