Dilemma in the Senate

FROM A DISTANCE By FROM A DISTANCE by Carmen N. Pedrosa | Updated September 6, 2001 - 12:00am

The snowballing public agitation for Panfilo Lacson to resign or be expelled presents a dilemma for the
entire Senate. One would expect that Lacson would have the decency to resign or at the very least take a
leave of absence in the face of the accusations against him for moneylaundering, kidnapping with murder
and drug trafficking. But it may be too much to expect decency from a man whose election as senator is
precisely the central question of the proceedings: To determine whether drug money is being used to
elect officials of the country.

As far as I know, a government official who is being accused is expected to take a leave of absence so
that he cannot use his office to influence witnesses or the proceedings. It is a matter of delicadeza, an
unwritten code of ethics that used to guide our public life. Therefore, Lacson’s stand that "he will
not resign because he has not done anything wrong " is not justified. Rather it is suggested that he take a
leave of absence because it is his guilt or innocence that is the subject of the hearing, That is also the
answer to Senate President Franklin Drilon’s statement that since this is merely an inquiry, not an
investigation in court, he rejects suggestions that Lacson ought to be expelled.

If this were merely an enquiry why have some senators insisted on hard evidence that ought to stand in
court for resource persons? There seems to be a double standard here with witnesses being asked to
comply with strict requirements while senators in positions of authority are not. The cavalier attitude of the
Senate towards Panfilo Lacson who continues to sit both as a senator (a position of authority) and as an
accused (a drug lord) is the most obvious example of this inequality. As Col. Victor Corpus correctly
pointed out in yesterday’s hearing, why are resource persons put under oath while Panfilo Lacson
as senator is not?

Whatever will be the result of the case against Panfilo Lacson, et al., the televised hearing has already
given an important public service. It has exposed the inadequacy, even the uselessness of the Senate.
Given the tasks imposed on the Senate, what seems obvious is that some of the men and women elected
to this body may have been popular but they are not mentally nor morally equipped for the work. How
could a basketball player, a socialite, a broadcaster, and a comedian direct a serious inquiry in aid of
legislation?

Many of the allegations that are being traded between those who are accused and those who are
accusing were already known. As Mary "Rosebud" Ong herself had said, she had tried to communicate
with some of the senators. She has also spoken to some media members in the past. But all these were
to no avail. There just was not enough focus to draw serious attention to the problem of narco-politics until
Col. Victor Corpus decided to latch on the issue of Lacson and Erap and their wives multimillion dollar
deposits in foreign banks.

Remembering the terror in the face of ex-Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu. It would help if we rack our
memories for a proper background of the Senate hearing of Panfilo Lacson. It is the inevitable sequel to
unfinished hearing of Erap’s impeachment. One of the most memorable moments in Erap’s
Senate hearing was when former Secretary of Finance Edgardo Espiritu said he had seen known
smugglers in Palace functions. His face turned pale and he was shaking when some senators pressed
him on to reveal the names until the prosecutors headed by then Congressman Joker Arroyo himself said
it was not necessary to put himself in peril. Still, people remember that moment. Even then there were
already hints that the kind of amounts involved were beyond what jueteng payola could bring in.

Leilas dilemma: Drug links bared

Senator fires back: Character assassination
Here is a senator complaining [about the spate of drug-related killings], Duterte told policemen at Camp
Crame in Quezon City, without naming De Lima. One day I will tell you that her driver who was her lover
was the one collecting money for her during the campaign.Shes politicking and posturing when [she
herself has] a very sordid personal and official life, he added. In a press briefing at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport later in the afternoon, Duterte named the crusading lady of human rights that he
referred to in his speech as De Lima, with whom he has had a long-running feud.She thinks she is the
conscience of the country. You want to know the name? De Lima, Duterte said.Philippine National Police
Director-General Rolando dela Rosa said he will order a probe on De Limas driver.I will conduct my
investigation, dela Rosa said.De Lima accused Duterte of character assassination. My first reaction is I
dont want to dignify that. Its so foul. Its character assassination, said De Lima who was on the verge of
tears.We are both professional. We are both public servants. He should not have resorted to such foul
means. Thats very foul, said De Lima.She said Duterte should have double checked the source of his
information. She also vowed that Dutertes attack would not stop her from pursuing the Senate
investigation on the spate of killings of drug suspects under his watch.During his speech, Duterte accused
De Lima of commuting adultery with her driver and lover, claiming that she used illegal drug money from
the New Bilibid Prison to bankroll her successful 2016 senatorial bid.Here is an immoral woman,
flaunting. Well of course, in so far as the wife of the driver was concerned, its adultery, Duterte
said. Here is a woman who funded the house of her lover and yet we do not see any complaint about it.
That money came readily from her, he added. Administration allies have accused De Lima of being in

cahoots with the drug lords in the national penitentiary.Duterte also brought up De Limas attempts to pin
him to the Davao Death Squads when she was still commissioner on human rights.Until now she keeps
on yapping, Duterte said.In his press briefing at Naia, Duterte said that he is not joking about his
revelations against De Lima. It is not the business of a President to lie to the public, he said.He also
reiterated that the ongoing war against drugs will continue whether they like it, or not. We will overcome
the resistance, but if the resistance is violent, shoot. Can I be more clear than that?
Dutertesaid.Becareful with me because if I say I will do it, I will do it, even if have to kill you or be killed in
the process, he added, referring to the senators who are set to investigate the spate of drug-related
killings.Duterte was at the airport to condole with the widow of Petty Officer 3 Darwin Espallardo whose
wife Cleofe and son Dwyndyll John Espallardo flew from Legazpi City to fetch his cadaver.Duterte told
newsman during an impromptu interview that the family of Espallardo will receive a burial assistance of
P250,000 cash and other benefits while the son will get a full scholarship grant until he finishes his
college degree.Also on Wednesday, one of the so-called narco-judges named by Duterte denied any
involvement in the illegal drug trade.Judge Exequil Dagala of the Dapa-Socorro, Surigao del Norte
Municipal Circuit Trial Court said he has served the judiciary in the last 10 years with integrity.He said his
income was barely enough to sustain the needs of his family as he submitted himself to lifestyle check by
the Supreme Court, which already initiated an administrative investigation against him and the three other
active judges.Dagala admitted owning a small island off Del Carmen town in Siargao, but said that he
bought the property years ago for only about P40,000.The island, known in the town as Isla Verde, was
inspected by local police earlier this week even without court warrant on suspicion that it was housing a
drug laboratory. With Eric B. Apolonio

De Lima wants probe on series of killings of drug suspects

Published July 7, 2016 6:27pm

Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday said she will be seeking a legislative probe on the series of killings of
drug suspects.
Magpa-file nga ako ng resolution dyan, we have to look into that, in aid of legislation, because syempre
dumadami at you know there are just telltale signs of summary executions in a number of them. Perhaps
some of them are legitimate, meaning talagang nanlaban, nang-agaw, pero di naman pupwede na lahat
na lang dyan, De Lima told reporters.Halos araw-araw may mga namamatay and many of them are an

offshoot of police operations so we have to look into the legitimacy of the manner of the method by which
these police enforcers are doing their job, she added.She said the congressional investigation could lead
to institutionalizing the operational procedures of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency, and other law enforcement agencies.
Laudable but...De Lima said the all-out offensive of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs is
laudable but it should not be done at the expense of human rights and due process.Its very laudable, the
all-out offenses, talaga naman. Pero di naman talaga pwede ginagawa iyan at the expense of human
rights, at the expense of due process, she said.She expressed fear that it might lead to a pattern of
executions and could make the country a killing fields of sort.(Baka maging) killing fields tayo and the
islands would breed of violence. Maybe at this time, okay, natatakot syempre yung criminals dyan,
natakot yung mga sindikato dyan dahil pursigido ang administrasyon. But kung maging pattern na yan
summary executions, summary killings, whether or not manlaban, whether or not nang-agaw ng baril,
were looking at a really messy society because violence breeds violence, he said.She was bothered that
there seemed to be no proper investigation on the killings that happened.Theres an internal affairs unit
but I dont know how active or pro-active our PNP internal affairs office is. Automatic bang
iniembestigahan ang mga ganyang mga instances na kapag may operation merong namamatay whether
these are suspects or perpetrators," she said."And these perpetrators who are police officers themselves,
meron bang automatic na nag iimbestiga niyan? Gaano ba ka-seryoso ang pag iimbestiga ng mga
ganyan? I have some ideas or certain legislative measures na we can craft based on the results of that
inquiry, she added.

Davao Death Squad

In 2015, then Justice Secretary De Lima said the government has a witness who could testify about
Duterte's alleged link to the Davao Death Squad.The witness claimed to be a former member of the death
squad and had pointed to Duterte for allegedly ordering killings in Davao City.The investigation, however,
was stopped after the witness left the DOJs Witness Protection Program.Yung self-confesed hitman na
kinover din namin, under WPP, voluntarily went out of the WPP, nung nalaman niya na mananalo na ang
Pangulo. Dahil natakot daw, thats what I heardwe cannot force the witness under WPP to stay, De
Lima said.

Five police officials

On the naming of five active and retired police director generals allegedly involved in illegal drugs, De
Lima said Dutertes "name and shame tact" demonstrates his seriousness and determination to really
stamp out criminality and corruption.However, she believed there is a violation of due process.They (the
generals) are still presumption of innocence and therefore, they are entitled to be heard. They should not
be put and subjected to trial by publicity, she said.She expressed concern on the predicament the
National Police Commission could be facing.The President has ordered them to investigate, to find out,
to determine the truth or lack of it of the allegations against these police generals. But since the President
has publicly named them and the way they are saying it, you know theres a certainty about it. In the first
place, you dont say it if youre not certain, di siya kumbinsido. Ibig sabihin meron siya dapat mga
basehan. Now what if ang findings nga ng Napolcom ay iba so yan ang dilemma, she said.Senator
Panfilo Lacson, in a separate interview, said there should be a basis such as a complaint or testimony
before a congressional inquiry could be called.Halimbawa ma-refer sa committee ko ang resolution na
ifa-file niya, I wont call for any investigation unless somebody will come out and mag-present ng yung
probability man lang na nagkaroon talaga ng summary execution, then I will. Pero in the absence of any
evidence, basta say-so lang ng isa o dalawang tao na baka, sabi niya baka di ba? Anong iimbestigahan
natin kung baka? he said.Lacson, a former PNP chief, said he does not want to speculate on the
operations of the police and wants to give the law enforcers the benefit of the doubt.Ako naman, ang
presumption lagi is regularity in the performance. Alam ng pulis ang trabaho nila, alam din nila
ikakapahamak nila so bayaan natin sila gawin ang trabaho. So kung may ebidensyang lalabas to the

contrary they will have to defend themselves sa court. Pero pag-speculate na ni-rubout o pinatay nang
walang laban, I think thats unfair to the police officers involved, he said.

House probe into Bilibid drugs: What to expect

The House committee on justice plans to conduct back to back hearings on
September 20 and 21

MANILA, Philippines The House committee on justice is set to dig into why drugs proliferated inside the
New Bilibid Prison (NBP) while Senator Leila de Lima was justice secretary.The 9:30 am hearing on
Tuesday, September 20, will be presided over by committee chairperson Reynaldo Umali, who has vowed
to conduct a fair, objective probe.The national penitentiary, which is under the supervision of the
Department of Justice (DOJ), has been exposed for widespread drug use, violence, and corruption
among the inmates and prison guards.During her time as justice secretary, De Lima led over 30
inspections at the NBP called Oplan Galugad.But President Rodrigo Duterte alleged that she had links
to the drug trade inside the NBP. In a publicized drug matrix, the President claimed De Lima, through her
driver-boyfriend, collected money from drug lords, funding her senatorial campaign in 2016.The House
investigation, in aid of legislation, has been sought since De Lima initiated a Senate investigation into
the spate of summary executions in relation to the administration's war on drugs.Days after she presented
a key witness in the Senate, De Lima was oustedMonday as chairperson of the Senate committee on
justice and human rights.De Lima said she will not appear before congressmen, calling the House probe
asham inquiry designed to discredit her upon orders from Duterte.With or without an invitation, I will
NOT attend that hearing. I will not even send any representative, lawyer or even an observer, said the
senator previously said in a text message to Rappler.The House leadership agreed that it cannot
compel De Lima to attend out of inter-parliamentary courtesy between both Houses of Congress.The next
hearing is scheduled on September 21 at 9:30 am.

Resource persons, witnesses

Apart from De Lima, the following have been invited as resource persons:

Vitaliano Aguirre II, DOJ secretary

Persida Acosta, Public Attorneys Office chief

Police Chief Superintendent Rolando Asuncion, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge

Dante Gierran, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director

Roberto Rabo, NBI superintendent

Director General Ronald dela Rosa, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief

Police Chief Superintendent Benjamin Lusad, PNP Special Action Force director

Isidro Lapea, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency director general

Rosario Setias-Reyes, Integrated Bar of the Philippines president

Arsenio Evangelista Jr, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption spokesperson

Benjamin Reyes, Dangerous Drugs Board assistant secretary

Aguirre promised an explosive congressional inquiry, saying the DOJ has at least 30 witnesses to
present before congressmen.Only 5, however, are expected to appear on Tuesday, which includes highprofile inmate and robbery gang leader Herbert Colangco.Colangco supposedly executed an affidavit,
claiming that De Lima got millions from drug lords in exchange for allowing convicts to continue their
illegal drug operations inside the prison.Aguirre said former BuCor acting director Rafael Ragos, NBI
agent Junior Ablen, and retired police official Rodolfo Magleo will also testify against De Lima.According
to the DOJ secretary, DOJs affidavit allege that the senator had, on several occasions, received P5
million in drug money at her residence."Yes, there is basis [to file charges] based on the affidavits. A
complaint may be filed and this will undergo preliminary investigation. The nature is on violation of drugs
law, [and possibly] anti-graft," Aguirre said on September 19. (READ: DOJ eyes criminal raps vs De
Lima)Despite these, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez asserted that the probe is not a personal attack against
De Lima.No, this is not personal. Why would we resort to personal attacks? If you look closely at the
resolution I filed, she was not mentioned. The resolution clearly states that what we are going to
investigate is the widespread use of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison under her supervision, said Alvarez.It
was House Resolution Number 105 filed by Alvarez himself along with House leaders which prompted the
congressional probe.

De Lima witness: Duterte 'ordered' killings in Davao

MANILA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday, September 15, presented an
alleged member of the so-called "Davao Death Squad" during the Senate's probe into the rise of killings
attributed to the current administration's campaign against illegal drugs.Edgar Matobato told the Senate
that he was a former member of the "Davao Death Squad." He spoke about several instances when
President Rodrigo Duterte, then mayor of Davao City, instructed them to execute people. (WATCH:LIVE:
Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings)Matobato disclosed that after the 1993 bombing of the Davao
Cathedral in Davao City, "Umorder si Duterte na massacre-in 'yung mosque ng mga Muslim." (Duterte
issued the order to kill the Muslims in the mosque.)He said it was Duterte himself who went to their office
to give them the job. Matobato said he was the one who hurled the grenade at Bangkerohan
Mosque.Nobody was hurt during the explosion, however. (READ: A history of bombings in

Davao)Matobato said the members of the death squad were "ghost employees" at the Davao City Hall
under the "Civil Security Unit."What was their job? "Pumatay nang pumatay ng tao." (To kill and kill
people.)Matobato recalled that in 2002, Duterte again ordered them to kill a certain "Sally Makdum." He
said the group kidnapped and killed him, and chopped him to pieces.Matobato said Ronald dela Rosa,
now the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who was at the Thursday Senate hearing, knew
about this operation as he was at the time the chief of Davao City's Presidential Anti-Organized Crime
Task Force.The witness also implicated the son of President Duterte, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo
Duterte, in another killing. (READ: Senate witness: Paolo Duterte ordered killing of Richard King)

Hired as CAFGU
Matobato said he was first a Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) member under the Scout
Rangers in Davao City. He was later recruited into the "Lambada Boys." They job was supposed to
execute criminals in the city drug pushers, rapists, and snatchers.The Davao Death Squad is a vigilante
group in Davao City that targets criminals. Duterte, who was mayor of Davao for over two decades before
assuming the presidency, has long been linked to the group.Duterte at one time "claimed" ownership of
the Davao Death Squad, but also insisted that there is no evidence to link him to the vigilante group.
(READ: Davao Death Squad: What happened to the investigations?)In May 2015, a year before the
presidential elections which he eventually won, Duterte spoke at the national gathering of Workplace
Advocates on Safety in the Philippines explaining that Davao is the 9th safest city in the world because
his approach to criminality involved killing them."How did I reach that title among the world's safest cities?
Kill them all," Duterte was reported as saying.This prompted the New York-based Human Rights Watch
(HRW) to call for an investigation. "Duterte's public support for the extrajudicial killings of suspected
criminals should prompt a long overdue investigation into Duterte's possible role in those deaths," Phelim
Kine, deputy Asia director of HRW, then said.

Matobatos confession
During the Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings, Matobato insisted it was Duterte who ordered the
killings that took place in 2010.He said that after killing the 4, they loaded the bodies on the boat and
disposed of them in the sea. Matobato narrated the same incident in an affidavit he submitted to the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in September 2014. He said he was the only civilian (or non-police)
in the group that carried out the killings, led by Senior Police Officer 4 Arthur Lascaas.Inconsistencies,
however, mar the narrations of Matobato regarding this specific incident when compared to his previous
statements.Contrary to what he said in the Senate and contrary to news reports on the killings, Matobato
said in his affidavit that the killings occurred in 2009, a year earlier.He also said in his NBI affidavit and in
his narration in the Senate that cement hollow blocks were used to make sure the bodies would sink and
not float different from the hydraulic jack that Tariman mentioned and what was shown in alleged photos
of Mirandas body. During the interview with Rappler, Matobato said they used hydraulic jacks.The heavy
weights, however, served the same purpose of submerging the bodies.But amid conflicting claims,
Matobato was consistent in pinning the blame on Duterte.Senators pointed to his inconsistencies as proof

that his stories were all kuwentong kutsero (tall tales)". Six years and two elections later, no person has
been convicted or even charged over the abduction and brutal murders in 2010.Had the bodies not
surfaced, no one would have known the horrific murders happened.

Edgar Matobato:
Liar or truth-teller?
MANILA, Philippines Hes either a shameless, well-trained prevaricator, a repentant truth-teller, or
someone caught in between.57-year-old Edgar Matobato appeared twice before partisan senators
who grilled him and tried to assert that his shocking revelations about the infamous Davao Death
Squad (DDS) and President Rodrigo Duterte were too incredible to be true.Practically illiterate after
completing only Grade 1 many decades ago, he was made to look stupid and inconsistent in his narration
of what he knew. The son of a forest ranger who planted coffee and corn to support his family, the short,
stocky Edgar with streaks of silver hair showed little traces of a man who had witnessed and even
participated in the killing of hundreds of people many of them criminals who were a menace to
Davao.They were drug pushers, snatchers, hold-uppers, land-grabbers, and they all deserved to die, he
thought. Edgar took pride in his job.He says his was among the names listed under Davao city halls civil
security unit (CSU), which watched over markets, schools, and terminals to keep them safe even if his
job was nowhere near that.Among the ghost employees of city hall, he received from P5,000 ($103.80)*
to P6,000 ($124.54)* a month, hardly enough to feed a family. His covert job was to kill.He says he has
proof of his ties to the city government of Davao. Maski wala akong grado, mangmang akong tao, kung
may papel ay tinatago ko. Hindi man ako marunong magbasa. Basta nilalagay ko lang diyan (Even if I'm
uneducated and Im illiterate, I keep documents. Even if I dont know how to read. I just keep them)."On
Monday, September 26, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV presented documents that supported Edgars claims
about his links to Davao city hall among them, an identification card bearing his name and signature
and which indicates he was an auxiliary service worker; a service card which however listed his date of
birth as June 11, 1961 (he was born in 1957); and job orders issued in 2013 by the authority of the city
mayor then, Rodrigo Duterte.

He started out as a member of the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF), a paramilitary unit tasked to
help maintain peace and order, and fight insurgents. Later, the CHDF, under the supervision and control
of governors and mayors, became associated with human rights abuses and was disbanded. After
Marcos, the CHDF was transformed into the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu), an irregular
auxillary force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.Edgar Bernal Matobato was an early witness to
violence. By his own account, when he was 18 or so, supposed members of the communist New
PeoplesArmy (NPA) who were in need of guns, swooped down on their home near the Mt Apo National
Park and demanded guns.Sabi ng tatay ko, huwag 'nyo galawin ang pamilya ko.Kung kailangan 'nyo ng
baril ko, ibibigay ko. Hindi ako lalaban. Siyempre noon, malakas ang NPA. So ako ang nagbigay. Kinuha
ko sa taas ang baril tapos binigay ko sa mga NPA iyong baril. Pagkatapos iyong tatay ko hinawakan ng 4
na tao, pinutulan ng ulo sa harapan ko. Lumalakad pa nga sa bakuran namin iyong katawan, walang ulo.
Pagkatapos tinusok sa kahoy, ginanyan sa lupa, binandera ang ulo ng tatay ko, he narrates.
(My father told them, dont touch my family. If you need my gun, I will give it. I wont put up a fight. Of
course at the time, the NPA was strong. So I was the one who gave the gun. I got it from upstairs and
handed it to the NPA. Afterwards 4 men held my father and beheaded him in front of me. His headless
body even walked around in our backyard. Afterwards they placed his head on a wooden stake, did this
on the ground, and paraded it.)That killing left such an impression he swore he would avenge it and seek
justice for his father.