Senator Pia Cayetano on Monday, October 21 confirmed that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will conduct its own public inquiry into the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Accountability and Investigations (blue ribbon), assured that the panel will give proper attention to the issue.
“After a discussion with Senate President (Francis) Chiz Escudero, it has been decided that, as Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, I will call a hearing on the ‘War against Drugs’,” Cayetano said in a statement.
“The issue of illegal drugs and the efforts of the past and present administration to curb its proliferation is a matter of great importance to our people, especially among families who have been victims of the evils it has caused. In this regard, the Blue Ribbon Committee will give it the attention it deserves,” the senator said.
Since Escudero has clarified that only the Blue Ribbon Committee can call a hearing motu proprio, Cayetano said the Senate has decided to designate Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to lead the subcommittee probe.
“Since I am currently attending a summit on Energy for the Energy committee which I also chair, we have consulted with the Senate President and Senator Koko Pimentel, Chairman of the Committee on Justice, regarding the conduct of the hearing,” she said.
“Given the urgency of this issue, it has been agreed that Senator Pimentel will preside over the hearings,” Cayetano stressed.
Earlier, Escudero thumbed down Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s proposal for his Senate Committee on Public Order to conduct a parallel probe into the Duterte administration’s drug war.
Both Dela Rosa and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go have been implicated in the House’s Quad Committee’s (QuadComm) drug war probe.
In an earlier press conference, Monday morning, Pimentel said he is ready to take on the task and conduct the hearing once the chairperson of the blue ribbon panel designates him as the head of the blue ribbon subcommittee that will look into the previous administration’s drug war.
Meanwhile, Escudero rejected Rep. Ace Barbers offer of a joint Senate and House probe on the drug war, and extrajudicial killings.
According to the Senate chief, there is no such provision under the Upper Chamber’s rules.
“While tempting… Unfortunately, we have no provision in our rules providing for such a ‘joint investigation’,” Escudero said.