DOJ to review ‘cold cases’ of EJKs

JAIL TIME Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent testimony at the Senate justifying his war on drugs—and admitting
he had employed a “death squad” for it—reignited calls for his prosecution and imprisonment, like at a press conference
held by the human rights groups Karapatan and Selda in Quezon City on Oct. 30, 2024. — NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) will look into “cold cases” of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte to check if these were rightfully dismissed,  newly appointed Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said on Wednesday.

“Cold cases” refer to crimes yet to be resolved but not being investigated.

“There’s nothing which will prevent us from looking into cold cases; cases which were probably filed as complaints before law enforcement but never reached the prosecution office,” Fadullon told reporters in a chance interview after his oath-taking as prosecutor general.

“So these are cases that we can possibly look into together with the current leadership of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) and our prosecutors will be there to help go over the view and screen these cases to find out if these should really be dismissed because there is insufficient evidence or if there are cases that deserve to be submitted,” he added.

Fadullon admitted that it would be a “very big task” for the National Prosecution Service as it would require prosecutors to review a number of records involving past operations.

But he expressed optimism that the DOJ can resolve the cases by starting with the smaller ones.

“We will start with small cases and if we succeed in gathering evidence in small cases, well chances are, we persevere — we will be able to help develop cases for filing in court,” Fadullon said.

This developed after the recent bombshell of retired police colonel Royina Garma, linking Duterte and other government officials to the EJKs that occurred during drug war. It prompted cases related to the drug war to be reopened as directed by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

READ: Drug war cases ‘being reopened’ after Garma’s exposé – Remulla

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, for his part, said no personalities would be spared from the DOJ’s investigation into the unresolved cases of EJKs, even Duterte himself.

READ: Remulla: No one exempt from EJK probe, not even ex-President Duterte