MANILA, Philippines — Former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares urged the House of Representatives quad committee on Thursday to look into the cases of more victims of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Colmenares said the move could lead to more witnesses who could testify before the panel investigating the alleged drug-related extra-judicial killings (EJK).
He cited the cases of former senator Leila de Lima and the killings of mayors and other local government officials.
The former Bayan Muna representative also mentioned the case of lawyers of suspects involved in drug cases such as Atty. John Ungab and Atty. Rogelio Bato who were lawyers of Kerwin Espinosa, as well as National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Juan Macababad, and Ben Ramos, who resisted the previous administration’s drug war, and Atty. Anthony Trinidad of Dumaguete.
“A total of 61 lawyers were killed during the Duterte administration,” Colmenares, a human rights lawyer, said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“This set would include Ariel and Ana Mariz Evangelista who were killed in the Bloody Sunday massacre in Batangas, the Tumandok killings in Iloilo, and many other operations led by then Gen. Debold Siñas,” Colmenares said.
He also mentioned the case of retired general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga, which is one of the cases already tackled by the quad committee during its previous hearings.
“Gen. Barayuga has no involvement at all with drugs, but because he opposed the corruption in the PCSO, he was included in the drug list and later assassinated in the name of Duterte’s drug war,” Colmenares said.
Senate drug war probe by Dela Rosa ‘self-serving’
Colmenares also slammed the separate drug war probe by the upper chamber led by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
“In this case, Sen. Dela Rosa is going to investigate the killings which involve himself, his benefactor Duterte, and his PNP subordinates. In previous statements, he swears he is innocent of any involvement in the killings,” Colmenares said.
“The investigation hasn’t started yet but he already acquitted himself. Sen. Dela Rosa should be among those investigated, not the one leading the investigation. This is just so absurd and we hope the Senate will not allow itself to be dragged into the zarzuela in that senate investigation,” he concluded.