MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Senator Joel Villanueva on Friday emphasized that the upcoming Senate probe on the government鈥檚 drug war is not about 鈥減ointing fingers鈥� or 鈥済lorifying the trigger-happy.鈥�
Speaking to reporters in a virtual conference, Villanueva said Senate President Chiz Escudero ordered a thorough, impartial, and well-rounded investigation into the drug war.
鈥淎yaw namin maging parang intramurals or pagalingan ng imbestigasyon ang House at Senate. Nanggaling tayo sa House and we love the House of Representatives,鈥� said Villanueva.
(We don鈥檛 want it to be like an intramural where we compete with the investigation of the House of Representatives. We came from the House, and we love the House of Representatives.)
The lower chamber, through its quad committee, is also investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 brutal drug campaign dubbed as Oplan Tokhang.
The parallel investigation in the Senate, meanwhile, was triggered by a resolution filed by Duterte ally Sen. Bong Go, whose name is also being tagged in the drug war mess.
READ: Bong Go wants Senate to probe Duterte admin鈥檚 drug war听
But what would be the difference in the Senate鈥檚 investigation? Villanueva said senators only want to hear all sides of the story.
鈥淎yaw namin ng turuan-turuan, ayaw naming i-glorify 鈥榶ong mga trigger-happy diyan, and when I say trigger-happy, hindi 鈥榶ong ibig sabihin trigger-happy per se, but 鈥榶ong trigger-happy na kailangan mayroong madiin, mayroong kailangan i-contempt, etc.,鈥� said Villanueva.
(We don鈥檛 want to point fingers, we don鈥檛 want to glorify those who are trigger-happy, and when I say trigger-happy, I don鈥檛 mean it literally, but rather the kind of trigger-happy where there鈥檚 a need to accuse someone or even hold them in contempt.)
He said senators want to find out what really transpired, prove that violations were made, and correct them so that they can be prevented in the future.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel is set to preside over the hearing on Monday. He had chosen Villanueva to be his counterpart and to preside over the probe.
鈥淪iguro siya [ang] makakapagsabi no, kung bakit gusto niya tayo [but] he made mention about my stand and the track record I had during those times na may mga reports on extrajudicial killings,鈥� said Villanueva.
(Maybe he鈥檚 the one who can explain why he wants me involved, but he mentioned my stance and track record from the time there were reports of extrajudicial killings.)