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Senate

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri led senators in denouncing the testimony of former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent Jonathan Morales for failing to prove allegations of illegal drugs against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/6/marcos-jr-laughs-off-pdea-document-linking-him-to-illegal-drugs-1957">READ: Marcos Jr. laughs off &#x27;PDEA document&#x27; linking him to illegal drugs</a> </div>&quot;We were monitoring the committee hearings being conducted by the Committee on Public Order and very serious accusations have been made. Whether they have merit or not, it&#x27;s a whole other matter. While certain claims were made, documentary evidence is yet to be presented,&quot; Zubiri said. &quot;Even the drug test of the president is being brought up even though it does not appear to be germane or important to the subject matter of the motu propio investigation,&quot; Zubiri added. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada had similar sentiments when he spoke before the media after the hearing. &quot;Sinungaling. Polluted... I&#x27;ve already established that the president is not involved. The president is not included in the drug list and even Maricel Soriano,&quot; he said.Estrada earlier accused Morales of lying as the latter only pointed to a &quot;confidential informant&quot; he could not remember. &quot;Alam mo ikaw Morales, nagbabanggit ka ng pangalan ng mga personaldad ultimo pangalan ng presidente, ultimo pangalan ng mga iba&#x27;t ibang sikat na artista na wala ka namang ebidensiya, sinasabi galing sa informant,&quot; Estrada earlier said.Morales said he merely reduced the information coming from his confidential informant into a sworn statement after the informant showed 5 pictures printed from his cell phone.When Estrada asked for a document, Morales claimed it was with the PDEA.Estrada then asked PDEA Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo if the President and Soriano were mentioned in their documents. Lazo said Marcos&#x27; name was in a pre-operations report but neither Marcos nor Soriano was in the drug list. During the Senate hearing, Sen. Francis Escudero reminded his colleagues that witnesses should only speak on matters of personal knowledge. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/7/maricel-soriano-attends-senate-probe-on-pdea-leaks-1130">READ: Maricel Soriano attends Senate probe on &#x27;PDEA leaks&#x27;</a></div>&quot;When we subscribed our witnesses to tell the truth  only the truth and nothing but the truth  it is limited only to what he knows based on his personal knowledge,&quot; Escudero said.Zubiri warned that hearings should aim to ferret out the truth using evidence or facts.&quot;We respect the committee&#x27;s right to perform oversight functions in aid of legislation however we just like to remind our colleagues to be very careful not to use the hearings in aid of political persecution.&quot; Zubiri stressed that despite political affiliations, senators must be one in preserving the constitutional duty to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation. &quot;Let us try to avoid making these hearings into a political circus or for political witchunt,&quot; Zubiri said. &quot;We could lose credibility as an institution maraming magagalit sa amin undue anger and resentment to the Senate by different political clans and parties na ayaw naman natin mangyari.&quot;<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/1/-bato-insists-pdea-leaked-documents-authentic-says-paper-not-ai-generated-1932">READ: &#x27;Bato&#x27; insists PDEA &#x27;leaked&#x27; documents authentic, says paper not AI-generated</a>  </div>At the start of the hearing, Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chair Sen. Ronald dela Rosa assured the public that the hearing is no witch hunt. <div></div>Dela Rosa will continue his investigation on Monday.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri led senators in denouncing the testimony of former PDEA agent Jonathan Morales for failing to prove allegations of illegal drugs against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri led senators in denouncing the testimony of former PDEA agent Jonathan Morales for failing to prove allegations of illegal drugs against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano.

Senators condemn ex-PDEA agent over 'hearsay' testimony

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Senators condemn ex-PDEA agent over 'hearsay' testimony

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 07, 2024 04:54 PM PHT

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