Congress tit for tat

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By BENJIE OLIVEROS
Bulatlat perspective

For the past month, the general public has been treated with often colorful Congressional inquiries: earlier by the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, then headed by Sen. Leila de Lima, and later by the House Justice Committee being chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali. The Senate inquiry was supposedly about the spate in killings under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. The House inquiry was supposedly about the illegal drugs trade inside the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).

The Senate inquiry initially delved on police procedures, the statistics on killings since the war on drugs began, and if there was an order coming from the Duterte administration, as well as from Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, to kill suspected drug pushers and users. Witnesses were, initially, relatives of some of those killed on suspicion of dealing drugs. PNP Chief Bato dela Rosa was also questioned regarding police procedures and was asked to explain the spike in killings.

As the Senate inquiry was to resume, mid-September, after a hiatus when President Duterte was attending the ASEAN summit, Sen. Leila de Lima was quoted saying: “After 3 weeks since the committee started its inquiry, we have yet to hear the testimonies of other witnesses who can provide not only the clearer and broader picture behind these killings but also any loopholes in enforcing our laws.”

The Senate inquiry was in order until self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, 57, was presented. Matobato declared himself as a hitman of the alleged Davao Death Squad. Matobato proceeded to accuse then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and his son Paolo, of ordering some of the killings of 1,000 persons being attributed to the Davao Death Squad. Those killed were allegedly, drug pushers, thieves, rapists, other criminals, and enemies of the Duterte family. Matobato accused President Duterte of allegedly ordering the killing of the bodyguards of former congressman Prospero Nograles. In reaction, Nograles denied that any of his bodyguards were killed. Matobato also accused President Duterte of killing a Justice dept. official and ordering the ambush of then Commission on Human Rights chair Leila de Lima.

Photo grabbed from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) Facebook page. Photo by  Albert Calvelo
Photo grabbed from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) Facebook page. Photo by Albert Calvelo

That was when sparks began to fly and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV had a tense argument with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, in which the former switched off the microphone of the latter. That was when battle lines were drawn between those opposed to the Duterte administration versus its allies. That was when the Senate inquiry veered away from its purpose of providing “not only the clearer and broader picture behind these killings but also any loopholes in enforcing our laws” and degenerated into a forum for accusing President Duterte of ordering the killings in Davao before and now in the whole country.

Sen. Leila de Lima was removed from being chair of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee. Then the House Committee on Justice began its probe where Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre II led a line up of witnesses who not only described the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) but also accused former Justice secretary and current senator Leila de Lima of receiving millions of pesos from convicted drug lord Jaybee Sebastian.

Even before the House probe, Justice Sec. Aguirre has already been accusing his predecessor Sen. Leila de Lima of having benefited from the illegal drug trade inside the NBP.

Clearly the House inquiry is not so much about enhancing laws or looking at loopholes in the implementation of laws but a forum to counter the accusations of Sen. Leila de Lima on President Duterte and his administration.

Both the Senate and House probes have gone beyond the duty and oversight powers of Congress.

In an article published by the Philippine e-legal Forum Primer on Separation of Powers, Inquiry in Aid of Legislation, written by Atty. Fred, the oversight powers of Congress are classified under three categories: (1) supervision, which connotes a continuing and informed awareness on the part of a congressional committee regarding executive operations in a given administrative area; (2) scrutiny, primarily intended to determine economy and efficiency of the operation of government activities, exercised through budget hearings, the “question hour” and the power of confirmation; and (2) investigation, which is also known as the “inquiry in aid of legislation“.

According to the same primer, inquiry in aid of legislation has three limitations namely, (a) it must be in aid of its legislative functions, (b) it must be conducted in accordance with duly published rules of procedure, and (c) the persons appearing therein are afforded their constitutional rights, including the right to be represented by counsel and the right against self-incrimination.

Clearly, both the Senate and House investigations have gone beyond the purpose of providing Congress with information on the implementation of laws, which, in turn, could guide it in enhancing laws or enacting new laws. Both the Senate and House probes have become a demolition and counter-demolition job, a tit for tat.

The public has no use for this, but for entertainment. If there really are bases for the accusations of both or any one side, let it go through the courts. In the meantime, the Senate and the House should focus on enacting laws that would give flesh to the change that the Duterte administration has promised. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

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