MANILA, Philippines — The House Quad Committee recommended on Wednesday, December 18, the filing of crimes against humanity charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies for his war on drugs and its alleged incentivized extrajudicial killings.
The mega panel, which also probed the illegal drug trade and illegal operations of Philippine offshore scam hubs, urged for a police investigation into identified "big fishes" and Chinese nationals perpetuating these criminal activities.
In a sponsorship speech, Quad Comm chairperson Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, 2nd District) said that the “most chilling revelation” they discovered in their 13 hearings was the reward system that purportedly funded the drug war’s thousands of EJKs.
“The investigations brought to life the harrowing abuse of power and institutional impunity during the Duterte administration. Witness testimonies corroborated by evidence revealed the system of incentivized killings,” he said.
In a 43-paged progress report, Barbers said the following individuals violated Republic Act 9851 or committed crimes against humanity and must be tried at appropriate courts:
- Former President Rodrigo Duterte
- Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Duterte' s special assistant to the president (SAP)
- Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief
- Former PNP chief Oscar David Albayalde
- Former PNP chief Debold Sinas
- Retired police colonel Royina Garma
- Former National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo
- Go’s former personnel Herminia “Muking” Espino
The Quad Comm also acknowledged the estimate of human rights groups and the International Criminal Court (ICC) that EJKs were around 12,000 to 30,000, considering the unreported and uninvestigated cases.
Under the drug war
Reward system. The reward system was introduced by Garma who confessed its existence before the Quad Comm on October 11, saying Duterte sought her help to establish a task force replicating the “Davao Model.”
She said that police officers who killed a drug suspect received monetary rewards ranging from P20,000 to P1 million. They may also receive reimbursements for operational expenses.
Confirmation. Leonardo, also a retired police colonel, confirmed the incentivized killings but spared the details.
Duterte, who attended the hearing on November 13, admitted compensating police officers with excess funds from anti-illegal drug operations, even those that resulted in EJKs.
RELATED: Rodrigo Duterte admits giving excess funds to police in drug war
The senators’ role. Resource persons also named Dela Rosa, the drug war architect, in the reward system and tagging of public officials like former Sen. Leila de Lima and the late Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa in the illegal drug trade through narco lists.
“His (Duterte’s) release of an unverified narco list further exacerbated the violence as individuals were targeted based on flawed, inconsistent and malicious information,” Rep. Bienvenido Abante (Manila, 6th District) said in his speech.
Meanwhile, Go, Duterte’s close aide and special assistant, was also mentioned to have knowledge on the task force and disbursement of funds to police officers who had killed identified drug suspects.
Garma said that Espino was the Palace aide who contacted her to receive information on Leonardo, the one she recommended to lead the task force. She was also identified as one of those involved in handing out rewards since Duterte was Davao City mayor.
Killing of Chinese nationals. Barbers also said that criminal charges should also be filed against the following for the killing of three alleged Chinese drug lords in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016:
- Former President Rodrigo Duterte
- Royina Garma
- Edilberto Leonardo
- SPO4 Arthur Narsolis, Garma’s aide
- Former Bureau of Corrections Senior Superintended Gerardo Padilla
Padilla revealed to the Quad Comm on September 12 that Duterte congratulated him for the killing of the three Chinese nationals. He and three detainees also named Garma as the “mastermind” of the operation.
It was Narsolis who allegedly informed the detainees — who did the dirty job of killing — that Duterte would release and reward them with P1 million for each drug lord killed.
RELATED: BuCor exec confirms inmates' claim: Duterte applauded Chinese drug lord killings
The Quad Comm had filed House Bill 10986 to define and criminalize EJKs.
Illegal drug trade and POGOs
Barbers, however, was not done with the mega panel’s list of individuals recommended for criminal charges.
Since they have also been investigating Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs, including the illegal drug trade, Barbers said the following should also be considered:
- Empire 999 Realty Corp. incorporator Willie Ong
- Empire 999 Realty Corp. incorporator Aedy Tai Yang
- Dismissed Mexico, Pampanga Mayor Teddy Tumang
Ong and Yang were discovered to be Chinese nationals who had fraudulently acquired Filipino birth certificates to purchase Philippine land for their businesses.
They were also linked to the seizure of 360 kilograms of crystal meth in Mexico, Pampanga.
Quad Comm also filed House Bills 11043 and 11117 to allow the government to own illegally acquired land by foreign nationals and fast-track the cancelation of birth certificates fraudulently obtained by foreign nationals.
While not for criminal cases, Barbers said that an investigation into key personalities tied to the illegal drug trade:
- Rep. Paolo Duterte (Davao, 1st District)
- Nilo Abellera Jr.
- Paul Gutierrez
- Benny Antiporda
- Jojo Bacud
- Tita Nanie
- Allen Capuyan
- Michael Yang
- Allan Lim
- Charlie Tan
- Sammy Uy
The Quad Comm identified these individuals in the shipment of illegal drugs involving alleged Customs fixer Mark Taguba. Others were said to be linked to other cases of illegal drug trade.
In the case of illegal POGO operations, the following were named for investigation:
- Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque
- Lucky South 99 authorized representative and Whirlwind Corp. incorporator Cassandra Li Ong
- Alice Guo
- Tony Yang
- Hongjiang Yang
The mega panel also filed House Bill 10987 seeking to ban POGOs.
“This is not merely a report of the past wrongdoings but a call to action,” Barbers said.
“This is a defining moment for this Congress. It is an opportunity to uphold the rule of law, protect our nation’s sovereignty, and deliver justice to those who have been wronged,” he added.