LAWMAKERS from the House of Representatives yesterday recommended the filing of charges of crimes against humanity against former president Rodrigo Duterte, Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and others for the thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) committed under the previous administration’s bloody war on drugs.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairperson of the quad committee, said Duterte, himself, admitted to the joint panel last November 13 the existence of the Davao Death Squad and the “Davao Template,” which became the model for the national reward system for police officers who killed drug suspects.
“The former President unequivocally confirmed the existence of the reward system targeting drug personalities and using leftover campaign funds to finance and support the reward system, in contravention of Comelec (Commission on Elections) rules concerning the return of excess campaign funds,” Barbers told the plenary where he presented the quad committee’s progress report.
Barbers said the former president also admitted having advised and encouraged officers provoke drug suspects to fight back to justify their killing.
Duterte, he added, had assured lawmakers that he was taking “full legal and moral responsibility” for the drug war.
Government data shows that over 6,200 drug suspects died in anti-narcotics operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but human rights organizations estimate the death toll could be more than 20,000, affecting predominantly poor communities.
The 79-year-old former chief executive is already being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, even if the Marcos Jr. administration has maintained that it will not cooperate in the probe.
The Duterte administration withdrew from the ICC’s Rome Statute on March 17, 2018 after the complaint against the former president was filed.
The House quad committee, which has also been investigating criminal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), also recommended the filing of charges of crimes against humanity against former PNP chiefs Oscar David Albayalde and Debold Sinas; former Police Colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo, and former Palace aide Herminia “Muking” Espino, who allegedly handled the reward money for cops who killed drug suspects.
Lawmakers found during the hearings that POGO money was used to bankroll the drug war.
Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido has testified that the money allegedly “flowed from the level of Bong Go,” referring to Duterte’s long-time aide.
The panel included Garma in its recommendation even if she has already testified about the drug war reward system. It was Garma who exposed that cash incentives were provided to personnel who eliminated suspected drug offenders.
Garma, a former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager under the Duterte administration, has also told the House panel that Duterte allegedly spearheaded in May 2016 the nationwide expansion of the alleged Davao model, which encouraged the killing of drug suspects in exchange for cash.
She revealed that Duterte instructed Leonardo, a former National Police Commission Commissioner, to implement the model on a nationwide scale to incentivize police in targeting drug suspects.
Duterte, a long time Davao City mayor, has also admitted to the quad panel that he personally gave away rewards to policemen after successful operations against drugs suspects and other criminals, saying it is also being done by other local chief executives.
The quad comm report cited the charges under section 6 (other crimes against humanity) of Republic Act No. 9851, also known as the “Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and other Crimes against Humanity.”
Enacted in 2009, or two years before the Philippines became a signatory to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the law defines and punishes crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
The joint panel’s recommendation was part of its 43-page progress report, which was the result of 13 hearings held between August 16 and December 12.
The joint panel, which was formed in in August 12, 2024, united four House Committees – Dangerous Drugs led by Barbers; Public Order and Safety by Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez; Human Rights by Manila Rep. Benny Abante; and Public Accounts by Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lingkod) – to painstakingly look into the most controversial issues hounding the Duterte administration.
The committee report quoted the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) as saying in a study that the drug war only resulted in a slight decline in the number of drug users in the country.
“At the start of his term, Duterte pronounced that there were four million drugs users. That figure did not come from the DDB or any other known source,” the report said, stressing that the former president bloated the figure to magnify the problem and justify the systematic killings.
The report also assailed Duterte’s unverified “narco list,” which it said caused irreparable damage to the reputations of persons accused of involvement in illegal drugs, including politicians and police officers who were dismissed from the service without due process.
LEGISLATION
Among the remedial pieces of legislation that quad committee chairmen and members have filed are the bills seeking to define extrajudicial killing as a heinous crime and imposing the maximum penalty on offenders, and another one seeking the creation of an inter-agency government committee led by the Philippine Statistics Authority that would expedite the administrative cancellation of questionable birth certificates.
The measure was filed after lawmakers discovered during the lengthy hearings that several Chinese citizens have acquired Filipino citizenships using fake birth certificates, which they used to illegally establish businesses in the country and acquire properties.
The Chinese citizens even formed corporations and purchased land and buildings which they used for illegal activities, including a warehouse in Barangay San Jose Malino in Mexico town, Pampanga, where authorities seized a P3.6-billion worth of shabu shipment in September 2023.
There were also four bills filed seeking amendments to Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, following the revelations in the hearings on how the Duterte administration’s war on drugs was implemented.
The issue on POGOs and its links to illegal drugs was first discovered during a September 23, 2023 seizure of some 560 kilos of shabu worth P3.6 billion at a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga which turned out to be owned by Empire 999 Realty Corporation led by a suspected Chinese drug lord identified as Willie Ong, also known as Cai Qimeng.
Ong was found to be a Chinese national with questionable background whose company was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where fellow Chinese citizens who used fake Filipino identities were listed as incorporators of the firm.
Empire 999 was found to have acquired at least 290 clean lot titles in different localities, including huge tracks of land in Pampanga. It is now the subject of forfeiture proceedings initiated by the Department of Justice, Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) in favor of the government.
The joint panel was also able to identify Ong’s business partners, including among them Aedy T. Yang, a brother of Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang, Rose Nono Lin, Allan Lin, Lincoln Ong, who were also involved or were named as incorporators of interlocking companies that were involved in POGO operations.
The other names that were later found to be linked to Ong and his Empire 999 firm include Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s Baofu, and Cassandra Li Ong’s Whirlwind Corp.
GARMA
The Bureau of Immigration yesterday said it is still waiting for word from American authorities regarding the detention of Garma and her daughter.
“We are still awaiting any advisory from the US authorities concerning that case. Naghihintay pa po kami ng word (we are waiting for their word),” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said when sought for an update on the case.
Viado declined to provide additional details on Garma’s detention.
“The US authorities are in the best position to answer the question. As we stated, we are still waiting for the advisory coming from the US. I think it’s best that the information come from the US kasi we can only speculate, but we are not in the position to speculate on the matter,” he said.
BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said no formal information or update has been provided by US authorities on the case.
Garma and her daughter were arrested and detained in California on November 7. They were reportedly held by US border control officers upon their arrival due to their cancelled visas.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla later said Garma was held by US authorities due to her involvement in alleged money laundering activities.
The Magnitsky Act passed in 2016 by the US Congress authorizes the US government to impose sanctions on foreign government officials who are suspected human rights violators or offenders.
Remulla said Manila is working to bring Garma home under the provisions of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the Philippines and the United States. – With Ashzel Hachero
