Dela Rosa still willing to lead Senate drug war probe

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday renewed his willingness to lead the Senate drug war investigation even though his colleagues have opposed it, saying it is a clear case of conflict of interest.

In a dwIZ interview yesterday, Dela Rosa said he, as the chairman of the Senate public order and dangerous drugs committee, can call for a motu proprio investigation into the war on drugs waged by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Dela Rosa’s willingness to lead the investigation was widely criticized as self-serving, as he led the narcotics crackdown when he was Duterte’s Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

“I will also try to defend the mandate of my committee even though they accuse me of being self-serving. Just give me a chance to show to the public that I can be fair, that I have no hidden agenda but the truth,” Dela Rosa said.

He said Duterte would be more comfortable attending the hearings if it is conducted by the Senate instead of the House of Representatives, where a quad committee was formed to look into the rights abuses of the previous administration.

He will also invite the House resource persons who accused the previous administration of using the war on drugs as a tool for political vendetta and of implementing quota and reward money systems for every drug suspect killed, namely former Iloilo city mayor Jed Mabilog, Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido and retired police colonel Royina Garma.

He would also invite alleged Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, who accused the former top cop of threatening to kill him if he did not follow his orders to implicate Duterte’s archnemesis, former senator Leila de Lima, in the drug trade.

The senator even promised to invite the families of those killed in the drug war – mostly poor drug pushers and users who were defenseless but shot by police officers or killed vigilante-style.

But to keep it balanced, Dela Rosa said he wants local chief executives to testify about the gains of the previous administration’s ruthless campaign.

The senator promised not to use the hearings to “besmirch anyone’s reputation,” like what the House of Representatives quad committee did.

But Dela Rosa said he would concede if