No joint Senate probe with House quad comm

MANILA, Philippines — As senators prepare their own investigation on extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, they have made it clear they are against joint hearings with the quad committee of the House of Representatives.

This was according to Senate President Francis Escudero and Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III in reaction to the proposal of quad comm overall chairman and Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers for joint hearings on the drug war and extrajudicial killings.

“While tempting… unfortunately, we have no provision in our rules providing for such a ‘joint investigation,’” Escudero said yesterday in a Viber message to The STAR.

Pimentel said a joint Senate and House investigation could be difficult to implement. Escudero has tapped the Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Pimentel to spearhead a parallel probe on EJKs and the drug war.

“Good idea but difficult to implement. And then their investigation has reached a different stage. They are advanced,” Pimentel also said on Viber, referring to the quad comm investigation.

Resource persons in the quad comm investigation, including retired police colonel and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Royina Garma, had accused Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Bong Go of direct involvement in the drug war and EJKs. The two senators have vehemently denied Garma’s allegations.

Earlier yesterday, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea said Duterte had to beg off from today’s quad comm hearing, as he had received his invitation on very short notice.

Pimentel said they hope to begin hearings this week, with a “more realistic list” of resource persons, including Duterte. But he stressed the former president won’t be in the first batch of resource speakers to be invited. Duterte received an invitation from the quad comm last Sunday.

“We will make it a realistic list, don’t have too many people invited, it’s also impossible to get them to speak or ask them questions within a few hours of the hearing. So we will be realistic with our approach,” Pimentel told Senate reporters at a press conference yesterday.

He stressed the former