Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa can continue the investigation into the controversial issue hounding the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Sunday, May 26.
Escudero pointed this out as he reiterated that the ongoing probe into the “PDEA leaks” is not the reason behind Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri’s ouster from the Senate leadership.
Dela Rosa, who heads the committee on public order and illegal drugs, is leading the probe that linked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano to illegal drugs.
“Kaya nga naging emotional si Sen. Bato, siya raw ang dahilan kung bakit natanggal...sabi ko sa kanya eh di sana ikaw na lang ang aming tinanggal namin bakit si Senate President (Zubiri) pa. Dumami pa ang nasaktan humaba pa sana ikaw na lang, pero hindi po yan ang dahilan (Sen. Bato was emotional because he thought he was the reason why he was removed…I told him then, that we should have removed you, why do we have to remove Senate President Zubiri? Many were hurt in the long run, we should have removed you, but that is not really the reason),” Escudero said in an interview over Radio DZBB.
To prove this, Escudero said the upper chamber will not hold back Dela Rosa from continuing his investigation into the so-called “PDEA leaks.” Dela Rosa has conducted at least four hearings on the issue.
“I don’t know Sen. Bato’s decision as chairman, but I have advised him about his options that he can file resolutions while Congress is in recess…but we have no plans to stop him, we have no such intentions,” he said.
Though he denied that the PDEA leaks is one of the reasons why the Senate coup happened, he did not disclose the real reason why 15 senators signed the resolution to oust Zubiri.
At the same time, Escudero said he doesn’t believe that the so-called “Magic 7”—the senators who remained with Zubiri after he stepped down—will join the Senate minority bloc.
The so-called “Magic 7” include Zubiri, Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, and Sherwin Gatchalian.
“Sila ang nagsusulong noon at wala akong nakikitang rason kung bakit dahil nagbago lamang ang liderato sa Senado. Kung may pagdedebatihan kami ay ang mga bagong panukala (They are the ones who are pushing, and I don’t see any reason, why they should just because there was a change in the Senate leadership. If there’s anything we need to debate on, it should be about new measures),” Escudero said.