House panel vows to extend 'due courtesy' to Rody Duterte in drug probe

The House committee on human rights has committed to extend former president Rodrigo Duterte due courtesy once he shows up in its probe into the alleged crime against humanity committed during the controversial anti-drug campaign of his administration.

Panel chairperson, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., told DAILY TRIBUNE that the committee will be as "fair and respectful" to Duterte considering his past roles as chief executive and member of the House of Representatives.

"The invitation to former President Rodrigo Duterte is an opportunity for him to personally address issues that have been brought to light during our ongoing inquiry regarding the war on drugs that was undertaken during his administration," he said in a text message.

Abante reiterated that the sole objective of the congressional inquiry is to hear all sides and to gather as much information possible regarding the extrajudicial killings allegedly committed in connection with Duterte's war on drugs.

"We welcome all input, especially from the officials and personalities who were involved in the previous administration's campaign against illegal drugs, as we believe this will help the committee when it prepares its report and recommendations," he added.

Both Duterte and Senator Ronald "Bato" de la Rosa said that they would not attend any hearing of the panel concerning the anti-drug campaign.

Duterte vehemently asserted that issues about the alleged extrajudicial killings should be brought before the courts, which he deemed is the proper forum and not in the House committee.

Meanwhile, De la Rosa, who was then the chief architect of Duterte's bloody war on drugs, justified his non-appearance at the investigation, saying such a move was only in compliance with Senate President Francis Escudero's advice to observe inter-parliamentary courtesy.

The panel had earlier refrained from inviting Duterte and De la Rosa into allegations of the extrajudicial killings out of parliamentary courtesy.

Abante, however, posits that it was high time for Duterte to realize what he had done during his incumbency.

Roughly 7,000 people were killed in the anti-narcotics operations or "oplan tokhang" from 2016 to 2022 based on the government's data.

Local and international human rights organizations, however, estimated that the death toll exceeded 30,000, affecting predominantly low-income families and communities.

Duterte and De la Rosa were explicitly named as subjects of the International Criminal Court's ongoing investigation into the so-called crime against humanity after it was put on hold in November 2021 pursuant to the Philippines' request.