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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bato Dela Rosa says he will attend House probe on drug killings only if…

Bato Dela Rosa says he will attend House probe on drug killings only if…

Published Jun 27, 2024 08:03 am

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said he has no plans to attend the congressional inquiry into the so-called “war on drugs” launched by the House of Representatives but will do so only if his former boss decides to participate in the hearings. 

 

Dela Rosa, who is also one of the respondents in the complaint filed before the International Criminal Court said it would be “unfair” if Duterte attends the House committee probe alone. 

 

“That's pagmamahal sa tao, ayaw kong siya lang ang humarap dun ng wala ako. Kailangan kasama ako dahil unfair naman sa kanya, siya ang presidente noon, ako ang chief PNP (because of my love for the person, I don’t want him to face the hearing without me. I should be there because it would be unfair to him. He was the President then, I was the chief PNP),” Dela Rosa said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, June 27. 

 

“I was his implementor on the war on drugs tapos hahayaan ko lang siya humarap doon (then I should just leave him there)?” said Dela Rosa who was the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during Duterte’s term. 

 

Dela Rosa said he is ready to respond to questions that the former president may not be able to answer at his level as the chief executive.

 

“Hindi ko hahayaan na hindi ko siya matulungan pag siya ang tinatanong (I’m going to help him answer if he will be asked),” he said. 

 

But Dela Rosa said he was already informed by a former Cabinet member of the Duterte administration that the former leader has no plans to face the House hearing. 

 

“I was just informed by one of his former cabinet member, nagsabi sakin na hindi mag-attend si Pangulong Duterte (who told be that president Duterte will not attend). I just got the information from somebody,” he said.

 

In an interview on ANC Headstart, however, Dela Rosa criticized the ongoing House committee probe, saying that the investigation does not clearly state that it is in aid of legislation.

 

According to the lawmaker, the Philippine government should not cooperate with the ICC because “it's not just the criminal justice system that is working, but the legislature is also working towards that end.”

 

Dela Rosa said it is clear the issue is no longer part of their “turf” saying they are not doing the probe “in aid of legislation” but pursuing it to hold the police involved in the war on drugs accountable.

 

“They just want to pin down president Duterte. Why go to the ICC when our courts are functioning? All because they want to lump all the cases and make it crimes against humanity and pass this to the ICC, where in fact, in truth and in fact, some of these cases, when it reached the DOJ (Department of Justice) were dismissed immediately because it went through proper investigation and they will find that the actions by the police were justified,” Dela Rosa said.

 

“You have to treat each case individually, I must it clear, I’m not saying there were no human rights violations during the war on drugs. We admit there are cases, if there were none, then no police official should have been charged. No police official convicted. So there were, that’s why each case should be investigated individually,” the former top cop stressed.

Related Tags

DUTERTE ADMIN House probe Bato dela Rosa War on drugs
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