Public urged to pray for and remember EJK victims this Undas

In observance of this year’s Undas, House quad committee co-chair Bienvenido Abante Jr. urged the public to offer prayers in honor of the thousands of victims of the Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs, whose perpetrators remain at large.

Abante, a pastor and chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights, which initially investigated the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s watch, lamented that the victims and their families have yet to receive justice for the unjust killings.

"Collective national amnesia is one of the enemies of justice. The wheels of justice turn too slowly in our country," the lawmaker said.

"The killers and the masterminds of the brutal war on drugs have not yet been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for their heinous crimes,” he added.

The government reported more than 7,000 deaths during Duterte’s notorious war on drugs. Local and international human rights organizations, meanwhile, estimated that the death toll exceeded 30,000, affecting predominantly low-income families and communities.

At a Senate hearing earlier this week, Duterte admitted under oath that he “takes full, legal responsibility” for the killings related to his anti-drug campaign—a heavy admission that critics asserted may be used against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Duterte also confirmed that he had a “death squad” comprised of “gangsters” who killed criminals during his decade-long stint as Davao City mayor. Despite the years-long clamor for justice, the former president said he would remain unapologetic for his policy, stating that he did what he had to do to protect the country from illegal drugs.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019, but some lawmakers have insisted that it still retains jurisdiction over any potential crimes against humanity committed during the drug war.

The human rights panel is one of the four committees that comprise the quad committee, which has grabbed headlines for shocking revelations made by witnesses, including police officers allegedly closely associated with Duterte.

Retired police colonel Royina Garma, Duterte’s alleged trusted aide and a former member of the Davao Death Squad, claimed under oath that the previous administration’s anti-drug operations involved a scheme that incentivized police to kill drug suspects.

The monetary rewards ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the prominence of the target.

According to Garma, the operation was modeled after the “Davao template,” which was allegedly developed during Duterte's tenure as Davao City mayor.

She alleged that police officers who only arrested drug suspects would not be eligible for compensation, encouraging them to permanently silence drug suspects.