00:00Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.
00:05Welcome to the first hearing of the subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Committee,
00:10which was given the responsibility of investigating the Philippine war on illegal drugs.
00:18Allow me to thank Senate President Jesus Codero and the chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Committee, Senator Pia Cayetano,
00:27and of course my colleagues here in the Senate, and we are just being joined by Senator Bato de la Rosa,
00:35for the trust you have placed on this representation to chair this subcommittee.
00:42Our assignment will not be an easy task.
00:47I shall conduct this investigation without fear or favor, and I will simply follow the evidence.
00:55As the chairman of this subcommittee, I have construed our instruction to investigate the Philippine war on illegal drugs
01:04to begin with the Duterte administration, which was the first administration to use the term war on drugs
01:13to signify its prioritization of the enforcement of our anti-illegal drugs laws, all the way and all the way to the present time.
01:24Under our Senate rules, the Blue Ribbon Committee has jurisdiction over matters relating to investigation of malfeasance,
01:33misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office by officers and employees of the government.
01:41Malfeasance is intentional conduct that is wrongful or unlawful.
01:48Nonfeasance is failure to act where there was a duty to act.
01:54Misfeasance is conduct that is lawful but harms another person due to carelessness or an accident.
02:03Therefore, with the permission of my colleagues, I want to start our investigation by examining first
02:10the Duterte administration's enforcement of our anti-illegal drugs laws.
02:17How effective was the Duterte administration's war on drugs?
02:23Did it follow the law and rules?
02:26Was it compliant with the letter of the Constitution as well as with the values and principles contained in our Constitution?
02:37I am thankful to the House of Representatives' Quad Com
02:41because I believe they have saved us a lot of time with the allegations which have been made before them,
02:48many of which we can take notice of for being of public knowledge, a la judicial notice.
02:58We can take notice of the grievances of people.
03:03Our hearings will be an opportunity for those who have been accused of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance
03:12or even just put in a bad light to respond to the allegations should they wish to do so.
03:21These hearings will also give the Senators a chance to find out more about how the Philippines conducts its drug wars
03:33which is a matter of great public interest.
03:37Let us remember what the Constitution tells us.
03:41Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people,
03:47serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency,
03:53act with patriotism and justice and lead modest lives.
03:59The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service
04:05and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.
04:11According to a case by the Supreme Court, it bears to emphasize that public office is a public trust.
04:21Thus public officers are exhorted to at all times serve the public with transparent accountability.
04:29So let us all keep an open mind.
04:33Let us follow the evidence.
04:36With thousands of deaths caused by the Duterte administration's war on drugs,
04:44we have caused one death too many.
04:47Sobrang dami naman ata niyan para sabihin lamang na nanlaban lahat.
04:52We don't even have the death penalty on our statute books.
04:56And even assuming that we had this, the State would not have executed more than 6,000 death convicts in 6 years.
05:05No State with a conscience would have done this and this would have merited international condemnation.
05:13Let us therefore answer the cries for justice from our people.
05:18Let us reform not just the Philippine National Police but the entire notion of public service.
05:26Ang sabi public office is a public trust, ano bang ibig sabihin ito?
05:33We know that something is terribly wrong somewhere.
05:37Together let us find out what and where.
05:40Let us be objective as we analyze our problems.
05:44And let us as much as possible be scientific or systematic as we determine our solutions
05:51and our way out of this difficult situation we find ourselves in.
05:57So I say again, let us follow the evidence so we can uncover the truth.
06:02We want to know the truth not only because it can set us free
06:07but also so we can strengthen the rule of law and then heal our land.
06:14So we ask for the people's prayers.
06:17May the Almighty and all-knowing God guide us in this endeavor.
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