Digong to skip anew House probe 'aimed at indicting' him in EJK

Former president Rodrigo Duterte will again skip the House Quad Committee’s continued investigation on Thursday into his controversial drug war, despite a previous assurance that he would address the allegations this month.

In a letter, Duterte’s legal counsel, Martin Delgra III, informed committee chairperson Ace Barbers that “his presence is no longer necessary,” citing that he already attended a parallel Senate investigation on the matter.

Delgra expressed Duterte’s “doubts” regarding the committee’s “integrity, independence, and probity,” pointing to what he described as an attempt to implicate Duterte criminally, as suggested by past statements from panel co-chairs Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Dan Fernandez.

“While my client’s attendance is supposedly for him to provide valuable insights and to shed light on issues under discussion particularly on extrajudicial killings (EJK), it is apparent that the inquiry is a mere political ploy aimed to indict him for crimes he did not commit,” Delgra’s letter read.

Duterte attended the Senate’s investigation on 28 October regarding alleged EJKs during his anti-drug campaign but missed the House quad committee’s hearing on 22 October, citing illness. Despite this absence, he had assured the House panel he would attend in November.

During the Senate hearing, Duterte admitted under oath that he takes “full, legal responsibility” for the killings under his drug war, asserting that police should be exempt from liability. He also stated that he encouraged police to provoke drug suspects into resisting as a pretext for lethal force.

Following Duterte’s testimony, Abante and Fernandez indicated that Duterte’s admission could expose him to potential prosecution under Republic Act 9851, a law defining and penalizing crimes against humanity.

“If that is indeed their belief, then the proper course of action would be for them to file the proper criminal cases against my client before the Department of Justice and for the latter to resolve whether probable cause exist[s] or not,” Delgra countered.

Delgra further alleged that Duterte was “gravely concerned” about the committee’s approach, claiming they “tried to persuade if not unduly pressure, resource persons to admit matters under oath they lack knowledge of or worst, unduly induce them to say something not true,” an act he said amounted to subornation of perjury.

Previously, Police Colonel Hector Grijaldo accused Abante and Fernandez of pressuring him to corroborate retired police colonel Royina Garma’s affidavit, which claimed that Duterte had incentivized police with rewards ranging from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the target’s profile.

Garma, Duterte’s purported aide and former general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, told the quad committee that the drug war operation was modeled on the “Davao template,” which allegedly rewarded police with cash for killing criminals during Duterte's tenure as Davao City mayor.

Her testimony aligns with that of Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, a prominent figure in the drug war, who first confirmed orders to kill, quotas, and a reward system for neutralizing drug suspects.

During the committee’s recent hearing, former National Police Commission (Napolcom) chief Edilberto Leonardo, who initially denied the cash rewards, later corroborated Garma and Espenido’s claims. Leonardo, reportedly chosen by Duterte to head the task force overseeing the anti-drug operations, allegedly led the initiative when Duterte assumed office in 2016.

Both Garma and Leonardo, who were allegedly linked to the Davao Death Squad, have been accused of orchestrating the killing of retired police colonel and former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in July 2020 over alleged ties to the drug trade.

Meanwhile, Senators Ronald "Bato" de la Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go, Duterte’s long-time allies who are implicated in the drug war allegations, have denied any involvement in a cash reward scheme.

The House quad committee remains firm in its stance not to submit its findings or records to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is also investigating Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity. Though the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019, some lawmakers argue that the ICC retains jurisdiction over any alleged crimes against humanity committed during Duterte’s drug war.