THE House of Representatives yesterday approved a resolution reconstituting the quad committee, which investigated the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and the criminal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
Lawmakers approved House Resolution No. 106 filed by Manila Rep. Benny Abante, who chairs the House Committee on Human Rights, which is a member of the joint panel, along with the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Public Accountability and Human Rights.
The dangerous drugs panel is chaired by Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores; public order by Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano; and public accounts by Rep. Terry Ridon (PL, Bicol Saro).
HRN 106 authorizes the mega panel to conduct a new round of hearings “building on the revelations of the original quad committee from the 19th Congress, which exposed a web of impunity, official misconduct, and state-enabling of abuses.”
“The process of reckoning is far from over; there is still work that must be done — truths that remain hidden, perpetrators who remain unpunished, and families who still wait for answers. Let us reconvene the quad committee in the 20th Congress. Let us show the Filipino people that justice does not expire with time, and that this Congress has the courage to finish what it has started,” Abante said in his privilege speech on Monday night.
Because of issues that remain unresolved, Abante said the “quad comm 2.0 will adopt a wider mandate and investigate the persistent and systemic problems of criminality and criminal syndicates that have flourished across the years, often with the aid and protection of past and incumbent government officials.”
Among the issues the administration lawmaker cited was the case of the “missing sabungeros (or cockfighting afficionados),” which he said is “an example of the culture of impunity given the disturbing reports of police involvement and high-level protection.”
“Ang tanong ngayon: Bakit sila pinapatay? May koneksyon ba ang mga kasong ito sa mga naunang EJKs na ating inimbestigahan? O nagkaroon na ba tayo ng kultura of killing with impunity? (The question now is: Why where they killed? Are these cases linked to the previous EJKs that we investigated? Or do we now have a culture of killing with impunity?)” Abante said.
Abante has filed House Bill No. 1876 seeking to prohibit all forms of online and offsite gambling, including online cockfighting or e-sabong, and HBN 1877 which seeks to ban the promotion of online gambling and related content.
The quad committee, which ended its investigation after 15 hearings under the 19th Congress, had recommended as early as last December that former president Rodrigo Duterte be charged with crimes against humanity, the exact case he is facing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands where he is currently detained.
Duterte was charged before the ICC in relation to the drug-related EJKs during his tenure as Davao City mayor and president of the country.
