The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous is suspending its scheduled inquiry on the deadly "misencounter" between members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Quezon City last Wednesday.
Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, the committee's head, on Saturday sent out a notice to his colleagues about the postponement of their inquiry on the February 24 shootout between the PDEA and the PNP and the implementation of the country's anti-drug laws.
"Postponed indefinitely ang sa amin (Our hearing will be postponed indefinitely)," he said in a text message sent to reporters Saturday night.
The cancellation of the Senate panel's legislative inquiry comes after President Duterte ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to handle the probe on so it would be impartial.
The House committee on dangerous drugs had also done the same, "as a courtesy to and in order not to hinder the ongoing investigation".
Earlier in the afternoon, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Senate committee will push through with its public hearing on Tuesday, March 2, stressing that it would focus on his proposed "Presidential Drug Enforcement Agency" as a solution to the lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies.
Other senators, on the other hand, had hoped that the Senate inquiry will be able to determine the timeline of events leading to the shootout for measures preventing its repeat.