MANILA, Philippines – The Senate Blue Ribbon committee opens its own investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs on Monday, October 28, with the campaign’s key figures and its top critics in attendance.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who was the national police chief when the drug war started, are in the same hall as former senator and justice secretary Leila de Lima and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno.
A reckoning of sorts for Duterte and Dela Rosa, the architects of the drug war, began recently with several committees of the House of Representatives, the so-called “quad committee,” launching a probe into killings under Duterte’s administration. Duterte’s closest allies in the Senate, Dela Rosa and Senator Bong Go, insisted that the Senate conduct its own investigation, saying the former president would be more open to participating in it than in the House.
Duterte heeded the Senate’s summons, where he faces his toughest critics like De Lima and Diokno, but can also count on the likes of Go and Dela Rosa to speak in his defense.
The House probe has elicited damning testimonies against Duterte and Dela Rosa. With both men present in the Senate investigation, will it lead to a more comprehensive picture of the truth, or will it, as warned by critics, only serve as a venue for Duterte and Dela Rosa to defend themselves?
Watch the hearing live on Rappler. – Rappler.com
