Duterte to appear before Senate panel

FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte will attend the Senate hearing on his administration's bloody war on drugs on Monday, October 28, Senate President Francis Escudero said Tuesday. In a press conference, Escudero assured the former chief executive that he would be accorded the utmost courtesy as a former president of the country and as a former member of Congress. Escudero did not say, however, if Mr. Duterte could be cited in contempt if he refuses to answer questions from any of the senators, but he said he doesn't want this to happen. On Friday, Escudero declared that the hearings on the drug war would be handled by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee rather than the Senate Committee of the Whole, as proposed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III is scheduled to preside over Monday's hearing, even though Sen. Pia Cayetano is the chairman of the panel. Pimentel on Tuesday rejected a call to have Sens. Ronald Dela Rosa and Bong Go — who were alleged to have played a part in the war on drugs — inhibit themselves from the Senate investigation next week. The Akbayan Party-list had called on Dela Rosa and Go to take an indefinite leave amid the scheduled Senate probe. Retired police colonel Royina Garma testified during the House of Representatives' quad committee hearings on Duterte's anti-drug campaign that Dela Rosa and Go had a role in the reward system for policemen who killed drug suspects during operations. Both senators have denied the accusation. Pimentel, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice, said their presence should not affect the credibility of the probe. "They are not going to preside. And we have to encourage other senators to show interest in the probe," Pimentel said in a text message on Tuesday. Asked what role Dela Rosa and Go could play in the hearing, Pimentel said, "They will be given time [to ask questions]." He said the senators could anticipate the issues against them and answer these allegations. Dela Rosa has said Duterte would attend the Senate hearings, but Pimentel said he would not be called first. He said Duterte "can give his immediate reaction after hearing first the issues raised against his administration's war on drugs." Pimentel wanted to allow first the families of the drug war victims and Garma to testify. "We should first hear the issues against the war on drugs. Because the only reason why we conduct hearings was because there must be some issues. If it's a perfectly run government program, then we will have no issues." Last week, Escudero said the nature of the issues to be raised makes the Blue Ribbon Committee the logical choice. He added that he would prefer the hearing begin during the congressional break so that the Senate can give its full attention to the debates on the 2025 national budget when it is back in session. "This timing is important because Congress must pass the proposed national budget for 2025 before the year ends to prevent a reenacted budget," he said. He said the Blue Ribbon Committee has the authority to conduct motu propio investigations even while Congress is in recess. Escudero said Duterte's presence on Monday would be significant because this would be the first time he attended any hearing related to his actions while in office. Escudero, meanwhile, ruled out a joint hearing with the House quad committee, saying congressional rules do not provide for the conduct of a joint investigation by two separate houses. On Monday, House quad committee lead co-chairman Rep. Robert Ace Barbers proposed that the Senate and the House of Representatives conduct a joint investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration's war on drugs. After discussions with Escudero, however, the senators agreed that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee would hold its own hearings.