EXCLUSIVE: ‘Committee of the Whole should conduct Senate probe into the drug war’

ALL TOGETHER NOW The Senate plenary hall serves as the venue for the continuation of public hearings conducted by the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality on the alleged illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. (INQUIRER PHOTO/RICHARD A. REYES)

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV urged the Senate on Wednesday to convene a Committee of the Whole to investigate the bloody drug war waged by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He scoffed at Sen. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa’s plan to lead his own inquiry to counter the House quad committee hearings where witnesses have implicated him and the former president in the drug killings.

“It is nothing but a desperate attempt to counter the effectiveness of the quad committee hearings in exposing the truth about Duterte’s fake war on drugs of which (De la Rosa) is a central figure,” Trillanes said in an interview with the Inquirer Mobile, reacting to De la Rosa’s plan to hold a parallel inquiry through the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which he chairs.

In a series of text messages, the former senator and archenemy of Duterte stressed that De la Rosa, who was the Philippine National Police chief under Duterte, had a “clear conflict of interest … as he is a central figure in the matter he wants to investigate.”

“Bato has no right to lead an investigation into an issue where he is one of the (suspected) masterminds,” says former Senator Antonio Trillanes. (INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC)

By holding a separate Senate inquiry, De la Rosa “just wants to sow confusion and chaos to somehow gain some political leverage out of it,” according to Trillanes.

“The better alternative to this is an investigation by the Committee of the Whole to be presided over by Senate President Francis Escudero himself,” he added.

Asked whether De la Rosa and Sen. Bong Go, who was also implicated in the drug killings as Special Assistant to Duterte then, should participate in the Committee of the Whole hearings, Trillanes said the pair can take part “but they don’t call the shots anymore.”

Read: Dela Rosa denies knowledge of ‘Davao drug war template’, rewards system

On Wednesday, De la Rosa said that he could conduct a motu proprio investigation on the drug war since there is already a pending resolution on his committee.

Sen. Bato dela Rosa, in a press conference on Jan. 22, 2024, challenged Malacañang to be “man enough” to either admit or deny ex-Sen. Sonny Trillanes’ claim that International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators visited the country last December, as he decried the alleged partiality of the ICC probe into the drug war killings. (VIDEOGRAB FROM. SEN. BATO DELA ROSA FB PAGE)

In connection with the alleged involvement of Duterte’s son, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, and other personalities in the smuggling of drugs.

De la Rosa said he would call Duterte to attend the hearings and was confident that the former president would do so since he was more comfortable in the Senate than in the House.

Duterte and Dela Rosa have been repeatedly invited by the House quad committee, a body made up of four committees that Speaker Martin Romualdez formed and tasked to look into the possible connection between illegal offshore gaming, drug trade and extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration.

Read: Duterte to be summoned to Senate-led drug war probe, says Bato