DOJ urged: File cases on EJKs

MANILA, Philippines — Two leaders of the quad committee of the House of Representatives have urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file criminal cases against former president Rodrigo Duterte, using findings in their investigation of the drug war killings during his term.

At a press conference early this week, Rep. Bienvenido Abante of Manila and Rep. Dan Fernandez of Laguna said the DOJ, through the national prosecution service, may use the quad comm findings as basis for filing criminal cases against Duterte.

Abante and Fernandez co-chair the quad comm along with Rep. Ace Barbers and Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.

The quad comm comprises four committees jointly investigating links among the war on drugs, extrajudicial killings, corruption and other criminal activities including those carried out by Philippine offshore gaming operator or POGO hubs.

Abante said the quad comm is ready to turn over its findings to the DOJ, if requested to do so.

He stressed the need to give justice to the thousands of Filipinos killed during Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. Police data placed the number of drug war deaths at 6,000. Cause oriented groups and other sectors placed the figure at around 20,000.

“Willful killings affected thousands of civilians,” Abante lamented.

The Manila congressman said the killings targetted low-level drug offenders rather than major drug lords.

For his part, Fernandez said there are local laws on crime against humanity, citing Section 8 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9851 or “an act defining and penalizing crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide and other crimes against humanity.”

Fernandez said Duterte’s testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee that he was taking “full legal responsibility” for the “successes and failures” of his drug war can be used as ground by the DOJ to file the criminal charges for command responsibility.

At last Monday’s hearing, Duterte admitted maintaining three death squads comprising gangsters he threatened to kill if they would not kill the people involved in illegal drugs, rich friends in Davao City who were fond of killing criminals in the city and the chiefs of police who deemed killing