Rodrigo Duterte ordered 2016 killings of alleged Chinese drug lords — witnesses

Content warning: Contains graphic descriptions of violence and crime

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly ordered the killings of three Chinese nationals who were stabbed to death inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016, according to the testimonies of inmates who appeared before the House quad-committee (quadcom) on Thursday.

During the quadcom's second public hearing, Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando "Andy" Magdadaro, two former inmates at the facility, implicated the former president in their explosive testimonies about how they carried out the fatal stabbing of the three Chinese nationals just months after the administration's drug war was launched. 

What went down. Tan and Magdadaro detailed how, in July 2016, they were promised their freedom in exchange for killing three prisoners they called "drug lords." These were Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping, all three of whom were housed inside the compound's maximum security facility.

According to Tan's sworn statement, his high school classmate, SPO4 Arthur Narsolis, facilitated the deal, assuring him of a presidential intervention that would lead to their release. 

"Sinabi niya, 'May ipapatrabaho ako sa iyo at may basbas sa taas. Baka matulungan ka rin namin na
makalaya, kakausapin namin ang presidente,'" Tan said. 

(He said, 'I have a job for you, and it has approval from the top. We might be able to help you get released; we'll talk to the president.) 

Tan testified that Narsolis referred to the job as having a reward of "isang manok kada ulo (one chicken per head)," with "manok" or chicken implying a payment of P1 million per person killed.

Magdadaro also detailed his involvement, saying he was roped into the plan by Tan, who offered the same promise of financial compensation and eventual freedom. 

"Sinabi din niya na ang nag-utos ay 'yung dati niyang kaklase na empleyado ng gobyerno ngayon na kinakausap niya sa labas ng gate," he said.

(He also said that the one who gave the order was his former classmate, who is now a government employee and whom he was talking to outside the gate.)

Both men recounted how