Leaders of the House of Representatives are planning to form a multi-committee which will conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration and the intertwined issues of drug syndicates and criminal activities in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs.

The joint panel — composed of the Committees on Human Rights, Public Order and Safety, and Dangerous Drugs — will aim to establish a “unified and collaborative approach” to rigorously scrutinize the “interconnected problems and issues” that pose a threat to public safety, wellbeing, and rights.

Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., who initiated the move in a privilege speech on Monday, said the complex issues, including the proliferation of illicit drugs and human rights violations, must be immediately addressed in a coordinated manner to ensure that justice and the rule of law are followed.

“These individual inquiries by the three committees have been persistent and yet exhaustive. Still, there are issues that are interwoven entailing scrutiny into the intricate details,” Gonzales said.

The Pampanga lawmaker was referring to the ongoing congressional probe into the past administration’s bloody war on drugs that killed at least 7,000 people, and the suspected correlation of Chinese drug syndicates connected to the warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga where P3.5-billion shabu was seized and the illegal activities in POGO hubs.

“The complex yet interrelated nature of the issues surrounding public order, dangerous drugs, and human rights violations demonstrates the unique benefits of a collaborative approach that only a joint investigation can provide. A joint investigation will enable us to conduct a more inclusive and thorough examination of these interlocking issues,” he pointed out.

Gonzales added, “This coordinated effort will ensure that our findings are comprehensive and that our legislative recommendations are practical and encompassing.”

Due consideration

House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday said the House was giving due consideration to the resolution asking the subject committees to conduct a joint probe into the issues.

“We are now in the process of having [a] new stand that there’s a resolution being prepared so that at least the committees that are involved in the issues will be working closer together with the committee on dangerous drugs led by chairman Ace Barbers, chairman of public order and safety Dan Fernandez, and the human rights panel as we also hear of rights abuses here and possible EJKs,” Romualdez told reporters in a press conference after an ocular inspection at Lucky South 99, the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers is open to Gonzales’ idea of consolidating the ongoing inquiries.

Barbers believes that despite the closure of illegal POGOs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga, and the seizure of the P3.5 billion shabu in Mexico, there remains a secret criminal syndicate orchestrating the illicit activities that the authorities claimed they have stopped.

“We believe there is a large criminal organization operating here among us. That is why the House needs to create several committees. Why? Because the huge criminal organization is involved in everything,” he said.