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Pimentel: Duterte has no influence over me in Senate drug war probe

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Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Sen. Koko Pimentel on Monday said former President Rodrigo Duterte had no influence over him in the Senate inquiry into the Duterte administration&#x27;s brutal war on drugs.Pimentel is leading the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigating the former president&#x27;s anti-narcotics drive. The senator has been criticized for allowing Duterte to speak freely during the inquiry, including making side comments and unleashing cuss words.Pimentel was an early supporter of Duterte and aided his presidential campaign, with both being members of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). They had a falling out due to an internal party dispute that is now pending with the Supreme Court.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/22/22/timeline-key-moments-of-pdp-laban-split-before-marcos-jr-endorsement" id="isPasted">TIMELINE: The cracks in ruling party PDP-Laban before BBM endorsement</a></div>&quot;I&#x27;m no longer his supporter now... So we have our political differences. We do not communicate. Hindi na kami close (We&#x27;re no longer close friends). And he has absolutely zero influence over me especially on the way I think,&quot; Pimentel said.&quot;When I write the committee report, our past relationship, our past friendship, our past dealings will have zero influence over me. Even our present disputes will also not affect my way of thinking, I will follow the evidence,&quot; he said.Pimentel said there was<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/30/pimentel-no-need-to-invite-duterte-to-next-hearings-of-senate-drug-war-probe-1309"> no need to invite Duterte to the next Senate hearings</a> into his drug war, noting that &quot;he cannot be the source of all information. That&#x27;s why we really need to do some investigating ourselves.&quot;At the first hearing, Duterte under oath admitted that he maintained a &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/duterte-meron-akong-death-squad-2019">death squad</a>&quot; made of gangsters to kill criminals during his term as Davao mayor. He added he told policemen to &quot;encourage&quot; suspects to fight back so they could justify their killings. He also said he <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/duterte-says-he-takes-full-responsibility-for-bloody-drug-war-1237">took responsibility for the bloody drug war</a> but <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/duterte-denies-responsibility-for-death-of-kian-delos-santos-2013">not for the deaths</a> that arose from the crackdown.His former national police chief and architect of the drug war, Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa, said <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/30/dela-rosa-says-duterte-s-statements-under-oath-were-just-jokes-1541">Duterte&#x27;s admissions at the Senate hearing were just jokes</a>.Pimentel however said they would treat Duterte&#x27;s statements as &quot;serious&quot; statements. &quot;Unless he qualified the sentence as &#x27;the following sentence is a joke&#x27;, then we will really treat it like a joke. But if it&#x27;s not qualified as a joke, that is an under-oath statement,&quot; he said.The International Criminal Court in The Hague is investigating Duterte&#x27;s war on drugs — which saw thousands of drug suspects dead — and the alleged Davao Death Squad for possible crimes against humanity. The ICC may release a warrant of <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/30/icc-may-issue-arrest-warrant-against-duterte-before-end-of-2024-ex-solon-1715">arrest for Duterte before the end of the year</a>, observers say.The Senate inquiry was launched following bombshell revelations at the House investigation where former Davao police officer Royina Garma alleged a &quot;reward system&quot; during the drug war and confirmed the existence of the Davao Death Squad, which Duterte&#x27;s former aides denied.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/23/garma-says-davao-death-squad-existence-common-knowledge-among-cops-1109" id="isPasted">Garma says Davao Death Squad existence &#x27;common knowledge&#x27; among cops</a></div>When asked whether the Senate sub-committee would send its report to the ICC, Pimentel said, &quot;This will be available to all.&quot;He added that all the transcripts and all the non-confidential documentary submissions to the subcommittee would be made available to the general public.&quot;If they want certified true copies because they need this for legal purposes, we will also give them certified true copies,&quot; he said.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/29/lawmakers-want-case-filed-vs-duterte-after-senate-admission-1710" id="isPasted">Lawmakers want case filed vs Duterte after Senate &#x27;admission&#x27;</a></div>

"When I write the committee report, our past relationship, our past friendship, our past dealings will have zero influence over me," Pimentel said.

"When I write the committee report, our past relationship, our past friendship, our past dealings will have zero influence over me," Pimentel said.

'Hindi na kami close': Pimentel says Duterte has no influence over him in Senate drug war probe

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'Hindi na kami close': Pimentel says Duterte has no influence over him in Senate drug war probe

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 04, 2024 12:00 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 04, 2024 12:09 PM PHT

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Koko Pimentel

Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte

war on drugs

drug war

drug war hearings

Senate blue ribbon

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