Rodrigo Duterte — MALACAÑANG FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives and the Senate can launch a joint investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the Duterte administration’s drug war for a more comprehensive and quicker action, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said on Monday.
Barbers said he is proposing a joint probe to show that the House quad panel’s inquiry on the drug war is impartial.
Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs, is also the lead presiding officer of the quad panel.
“In fact, it would be better if we would have another parallel investigation because there is no prohibition about this, according to our rules. And because there will be a parallel investigation, we do expect that the lower House and the Senate are in sync in these talks about EJK. We really have to come up with a law to stop extrajudicial killings,” he said in Filipino during a press briefing.
“We will have to propose that, and wait for what the Senate President and the Speaker of the House can say about this. It was just an idea that we are looking into, for people to say that our investigation is impartial, because all of us Filipinos condemn the killings,” he added.
According to Barbers, the House and the Senate can jointly convene just like bicameral conference committees tackling bills passed by the two chambers of Congress.
“I think we would have a wider scope, a more comprehensive investigation, and more intelligent questions asked by the members of our committee,” he said.
“Because our talks encompass a wide area, and because it is a topic of national importance, therefore, Congress — the Senate and the lower House — should assemble to talk about this issue and craft solutions so we would not see a repeat of EJKs,” she added.
The House quad committee investigations started last August 16 in Bacolor, Pampanga. By the second hearing of the quad committee last August 22, the four panels tackled EJKs, starting off with testimonies from self-confessed killer Leopoldo Tan.
According to Tan, he and Fernando Magdadaro were hired to kill detainees Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Lee, and Peter Wang in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm for drug-related charges.
Tan claimed that Bureau of Corrections official S/Supt. Gerardo Padilla talked to a person over the phone after the alleged kill order was carried out. Tan identified the person as Duterte. He also said Duterte even congratulated the jail officer.
READ: Duterte ordered killing of 3 Chinese men in 2016, hitman claims
Discussions on EJKs moved towards claims that former police colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo masterminded the killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga, a former police general.
Garma was PCSO general manager when the incident happened. Both Garma and Leonardo — officials believed to have close ties to Duterte — denied the accusation.
Garma eventually admitted that the drug war implemented across the country adopted the “Davao template” where police officers involved in killings would be given monetary rewards.
Testifying before the quad committee last October 11, Garma said Duterte contacted her in May 2016 about the creation of a national task force, tasking her to find a Philippine National Police (PNP) officer or operative who is a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, who can implement the drug war on a national scale.
According to Garma, she told Duterte that she was unaware of “any individual with those qualifications” as she has not been assigned outside of Davao. However, she remembered her upperclassman, Leonardo, who used to be a member of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and was also a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH
Garma also said Leonardo told her that he made a proposal outlining the task force’s operations, coursed through Sen. Bong Go, who was then the special assistant to Duterte.
These revelations prompted Senators Go and Ronald dela Rosa to call for a Senate investigation into the drug war.
However, this suggestion was frowned upon by Barbers and other House quad committee officials, as Dela Rosa was the first PNP chief appointed by Duterte.
READ: Bong Go wants Senate to probe Duterte admin’s drug war
READ: Senate as a whole may probe drug war – Escudero