The House Committee on Human Rights is set to investigate next week the violent drug campaign of the Duterte administration and the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) associated with it.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., panel chair, said former president Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte and his first PNP chief, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who led and implemented “Oplan Tokhang,” will not be invited because of parliamentary courtesy.
Abante, however, said former PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and former Justice secretary Menardo Guevarra may be invited, along with many other resource persons, including relatives of drug war victims, police officers and Cabinet officials from the Duterte administration.
Abante said the committee will extend invitations to relatives of EJK victims, prioritizing the parents of victims who were minors, to attend the hearing set on Wednesday next week.
The lawmaker said that the investigation aims to “seek the truth” and gather “comprehensive information” on the alleged widespread human rights violations linked to the drug war.
“Ang tanong siguro ng iba (Some people might be asking), why are we conducting an inquiry into the deaths of alleged drug addicts or drug dealers? First, we must begin with the principle that each life is valuable and that each life lost is a profound tragedy. Second, we must point out that those who lost their lives, like every Filipino, are protected by the rights granted by the Constitution, one of which is due process,” Abante told a press conference.
Government data shows that more than 6,200 drug suspects died in anti-narcotics sting operations when Duterte took office in June 2016 until November 2021.
Abante said alleged drug users and dealers who were not yet convicted “were silenced and they were denied their rights.” “It’s our responsibility to the victims of alleged extrajudicial killings and their families to seek the truth,” he said.
He reiterated the committee’s responsibility to investigate accusations, particularly in light of ongoing international scrutiny, such as the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC)
In November last year, the House Joint Committee on Justice and on Human Rights adopted a resolution calling for the government to cooperate with the ICC investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs.
The joint panel adopted House Resolution No. 1477, which Abante filed with Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider), in consolidation with House Resolution Nos. 1393 filed by the militant Makabayan bloc and HR No. 1482 filed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.
The separate motions for the adoption of the resolution were approved after lengthy discussions on whether the ICC has jurisdiction over the country since the ex-president unilaterally ordered the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2018.
Abante has said cooperating with the ICC “is upholding the rule of law” and doing so even with the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute “would demonstrate that no one is above the law, and we are accountable for our actions.”
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a vice chair of the panel, said it is not the panel’s intention “to prove whether the drug campaign in the previous administration was bogus or not” but to “find out whether in this country, we still exercise, practice due process.”
Adiong said that the primary objective of the committee is not to assign blame but to enhance existing policies and laws to curb the culture of killing and impunity prevalent in the country.
