Statement of Senator Gordon During the Senate Inquiry on EJK

Transcript of Senator Richard J. Gordon’s statement during the hearing on extrajudicial killings on 22 August 2016.

I’d like to make some points as collective privilege. First is, when you say placards are being shown, I want to point out that this has been done before. In the early days of the previous administrations, there were houses being painted saying ‘This is a house of a drug pusher!” and placards saying ‘I am a drug pusher’ are also placed around criminals. To be fair to the public, this (placard) is nothing new. It has been done before, even during the time of the Chairman as CHR chair.

Second, is on the unexplained killings. This has been going on long before. When I was lobbying for the Veterans’ Bill, no less than a senator from Vermont, USA (who chaired the Appropriations Committee) raised the cases of unexplained killings. He said they will not approve aid for the Philippines unless we do something about the unexplained killings.

I’d like to ask General Dela Rosa if he could also bring the report on people killed by riding in tandems. For so many years, we have been inflicted with this malady called riding in tandem. People are killed and I don’t hear any solution to these cases. This has been occurring long before this administration and beyond it. I want to know from the General, when he comes back, how many people have been killed by riding in tandems? How many cases have been reported and solved? How many have been prosecuted to the successful occurrence? I also would like to know how many cases of people, I think this should be for the Department of Justice, were allowed to escape from prison and have been able to perpetrate killings of people, including mayors, judges, fiscals?

Finally, from the DOJ also, I would like to know whether in fact, institutionally as the law provides and I reiterate this, how many cases of drug lords that have been incarcerated? Obviously, the cases have been dismissed in the lower courts. How many cases of confiscation of the profits of crime? Meaning, how many cars, houses, money in banks have been confiscated by the DOJ and by law enforcement authorities? That is in the law. ●