Senate Invites Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, Former Sen. Leila de Lima To Drug War Investigation
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The former President and former Senator Leila de Lima were invited to the Senate hearing on war on drugs.
Amid the House of Representatives having its own investigation on the war on drugs of the Duterte investigation, the Senate also launched its own probe regarding the issues that surround the campaign of the previous admin. Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel will preside the inquiry.
Previously, it was Sen. Bato dela Rosa who expressed an intent to launch a probe on the Duterte drug war. However, it was met with criticisms and former Sen. Leila de Lima even stressed that he is also one of the accused in the issues.
According to Dela Rosa, he will invite Duterte and he believes that the former President will attend the investigation. He stressed his belief that the former President is more comfortable in the Senate than in the House of Representatives.
De Lima stressed that it may be funny for a co-accused in the Duterte drug war to also be one of the judges. For his part, Sen. Bato dela Rosa who was the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the Duterte admin expressed no regrets in joining the drug war.
According to Sen. Bato dela Rosa, force was needed in the drug war of the Duterte administration and, if given the chance, he will do it again in the same approach. He stressed that he knows the “truth” and stories cannot be made up against him.
Recently, Sen. Joel Villanueva assured that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte will be treated with respect and his presence will be a new element in the investigation. Meanwhile, based on a report on ABS-CBN News, it is not unusual as it has happened before that a former Chief Executive appeared in a Senate hearing.
“Una siguro if we will be able to get the presence of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Siguro bago yun, first yun. But it’s not unusual, if you recall during the time of President Noynoy Aquino, he also appeared in the Senate,” Sen. Villanueva said.
Based on the report, the Senate invited former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, former Sen. Leila de Lima, and other key personalities in the drug war of the previous administration. Villanueva said that Sen. Bato dela Rosa “is more than willing to even answer questions coming from members of the Senate”.
According to the Senator, Pimentel who will preside the investigation initially suggests 6-7 resource persons and the alleged victims of the drug war. They also want to make sure that the probe will not affect the timeline of the deliberations of the Senate on the 2025 budget.