There's a high chance that former President Rodrigo Duterte would attend the Senate's brewing investigation into his administration's drug war.

This was according to Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa who said in a phone interview on Wednesday, Oct. 16, that he would invite Duterte and his former cabinet members who could be resource persons.

Dela Rosa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, stated he would conduct a motu propio hearing since a resolution was already filed before that was referred to him regarding former Customs intel officer Jimmy Guban.

Asked if he already informed the former president about this, he said: "Wala pa pero malaki ang posibilidad na mag attend siya kung kami nag mag imbita kasi mas komportable sya dito kesa sa Lower House (I haven't but there's high probability that he would."

Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go brought up the possibility of the Senate conducting a parallel probe of Duterte's drug war, alongside that of the House quad-committee (quad-comm).

Duterte was accused by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma of spearheading in 2016 a nationwide, cash reward-driven war on illegal drugs that allegedly encouraged the killing of drug suspects. 

Go was mentioned in Garma's testimony, while Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa stated that Dela Rosa pressured him in November 2016 to implicate former senator Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade.

Dela Rosa stated that the Senate would serve as a venue for the likes of him and Go, as well as others who were accused in the quad-comm hearing to provide their sentiments regarding the issues.

Palace supports probe

Reinvestigating the high-profile killings at the height of the previous administration's war on drugs indicates that the Marcos administration "places the highest importance" on justice and rule of law in the country.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Malacañang supports the plan of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to reopen the investigation of several cold cases of killings related to the drug war during the Duterte administration.

"Of course," Bersamin said on Wednesday, Oct. 16, when asked if the Palace supports PNP's move.

"The reopening of the investigations of the high killings related to the war on drugs should indicate that the Marcos administration places the highest importance on the fair dispensation of justice and on the universal observance of the rule of law in the country," Bersamin stated.

PNP Spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo earlier said that they will look into the drug-war related killings, particularly the elected officials and other well-known personalities who were killed during the height of the anti-drug campaign.

 
Strong evidence, intel funds

Co-chairmen of the quad-comm composed of Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, and Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. have expressed belief that the testimonial evidence gathered by the mega-panel so far are strong. 

Dela Rosa, on the other hand, believes that they have no evidence against him, adding he's not bothered because he has a "clean conscience."

Fernandez also said that the quad-comm plans to look into former president Rodrigo Duterte's use of intelligence funds during his Palace tenure on the suspicion that the money was used for his administration's bloody drug war.