Face the music, solons urge ‘Bato’

Members of the House of Representatives renewed their call on Tuesday for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to appear before the quad committee investigating the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the Duterte administration, which reportedly resulted in over 7,000 deaths.

The appeal followed Dela Rosa’s refusal to attend the congressional probe. He has argued that the inquiry into the controversial drug war, which he led as the Philippine National Police chief then, has been extensively investigated by human rights panels.

“I have nothing to say against the quad comm because they are doing their job. There is only one committee there that I don’t like. But all the rest, they don’t tend to do the same thing,” said Dela Rosa on Monday, referring to the human rights committee chaired by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.

Abante’s panel is part of the quad committee, which includes the committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, and Public Accounts.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Lanao del Norte Rep. Mohamad Dimaporo said the issue would persist if Dela Rosa did not address it directly.

“Well, Bato makes me laugh. When you say ‘except,’ it’s like an admission of guilt,” Dimaporo said. “You say ‘repetitive,’ that’s because the problem is never being resolved.”

Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun echoed Dimaporo.

“As one of the members of the quad comm, I hope Senator Bato dela Rosa will not hide anymore in the halls of the Senate. Address the allegations and answer the issues, especially regarding EJK,” he said.

He emphasized the importance of the senator’s participation in the inquiry, noting that the quad committee may have questions only Dela Rosa, as the “architect of the war on drugs,” could address.

In the same vein, Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre assured that the so-called mega panel would not just implicate Dela Rosa in any way because “it’s not a court.

Nevertheless, they (ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa and others) could still be held liable for the effects “of the decisions and policies they implemented during their time.”

“If we listen to the hearings of the drugs and human rights committees, we will see that based on the testimonies of the witnesses, the resource person who was presented to the committee, there were allegations of a quota system,” Acidre said at the press briefing.

He added, “This was not the innocent who just fought back. We have seen that there really was a pattern of impunity that allegedly motivated our policemen. And as congressmen, I think it should be a matter of concern for us that our policemen are on the right path, especially in the implementation of our laws and securing our communities, and I think that is what we want to achieve. The committee is not a court, we are not the ones who will imprison them.”