No need to invite Duterte in next drug war probe - Pimentel
Metro Manila, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee chairman investigating the drug war said the next hearing can proceed without former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Ako as chairman, wala na sa list of invitees ko si former President Duterte. Kung may senador na ilalagay siya, tatanungin ko kung bakit,” Pimentel told NewsWatch Plus in an interview.
[Translation: As chairman, I no longer have former President Duterte on my list of invitees. If a senator decides to include him, I will ask why.]
The senator said he wants to make sure that PCol Royina Garma (ret.) will attend the next hearing.
“Si Garma sana, sa second hearing nandun na siya. Otherwise, hindi masyadong, magiging productive pa rin naman. There's a way to make the hearing productive pero mas productive sana kung meron nang allegation of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance na nakadirect sa personality,” said Pimentel.
[Translation:I hope Garma will be there at the second hearing. Otherwise, it will still be productive, but it would be more productive if there were allegations of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance directed at a particular personality]
Garma was a longtime Davao police chief before a short stint in Cebu ahead of her retirement in 2019. Duterte appointed her general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in 2019 to 2022.
Pimentel noted the importance of determining a possible connection among cases linked to Duterte’s drug war.
“Pero ang point is, kung mayroong mas malalim ba, isolated incidents ba yun na nag-total na 6,000 ang victims? Or mayroong bang common thread yun? May tinahi ba yun? Tahi-tahi ba yun? I mean, ano ba yun? Polisyia ba yun? Or programa ba yun ng gobyerno? We need testimony to that effect. And that is the one supposed to be provided by Garma,” Pimentel explained.
[Translation: But the point is, is there something deeper, were those isolated incidents that added up to 6,000 victims? Or is there a common thread? Is it all connected? Was it a policy? Or was it a government program? We need testimony to that effect. That’s what Garma is supposed to provide.]
The second hearing has yet to have a date.
Pimentel: Subcommittee lacks authority to cite Duterte in contempt
Pimentel said the subcommittee has no authority to hold the former president in contempt.
“Klaruhin natin yun. The only way natin na madisiplina yung witness natin ay paalisin. Paalisin natin sa hearing. Huwag naman, sayang na yun yung testimony niya. So, mas maganda yung material natin kasi natural flow ng testimony ng tao,” Pimentel said.
[Translation: Let’s clarify that. The only way we can discipline our witness is by asking them to leave. Let’s not do that, their testimony is valuable. It’s better for our material to have the natural flow of the person’s testimony.]
He added that the subcommittee has warned Duterte against expletives during testimonies.
“When he was quoting himself na meron siyang curse words, sabi ko, let it be part of his narration na ganun ang pagkasabi niya. Pero may mga sunod-sunod na nga na nakakalusot din. Nawarning nga naman siya and then of course, sabi natin na as much as possible, tanggalin niyo na yan. Lumalabas, hindi talaga niya matanggal,” said Pimentel.
[Translation: When he was quoting himself with cuss words, I said let it be part of his narration as he was saying it. But there were consecutive slips. He was warned, and of course, we said to remove it as much as possible. But it seems he really can’t control it.]
Families of EJK victims feel offended
The senator acknowledged the concerns of families of extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims who felt Duterte was dismissive of the deaths.
“Siyempre, kung mamatayan ka nga naman na hindi nga naman nasolve, tapos may label pa or allegation na involved sa drugs or involved sa krimen pero hindi nasolve, siyempre masakit yun. Na-understand ko po yun. Na-understand natin yun. Pero yung tawa kasi talagang may mga light moments sometimes, may time din naman na mayroon din sila mga light moments because it's part na rin ng Filipino culture yung may light moments tayo,” Pimentel explained.
[Translation: Of course, if you lost someone, and their case was unsolved, then they’re labeled or alleged to be involved in drugs or crime, that’s painful. I understand that. We understand that. But laughter happens, there are light moments sometimes, and there’s a time when they, too, share light moments because it’s also part of Filipino culture to have light moments.]
“Pero kung may mga na-offend sa light moments or kung may makita sila sa background na naka smile, kung tama man ang konteksto o hindi, pero ma-offend sila, na-understand ko po yun kasi namatayan nga sila,” he added.
[Translation: But if some are offended by the light moments, or if they see someone smiling in the background, whether or not the context is correct, I understand them because they lost someone.]
