House quad comm invites Duterte to EJK probe

MANILA – The quad committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday formally invited former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte to appear in its joint investigation and address his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his administration's "war on drugs".

During the second hearing of the quad committee, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. moved to invite Duterte to address the allegations implicating the former president in the 2016 killings of three convicted Chinese drug lords inside the maximum security facility of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte.

Inmates Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando Magdadaro testified that they were allegedly approached by law enforcement officers connected to the Duterte administration and instructed to carry out the killings in exchange for their freedom.

The three EJK victims – Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping – were serving sentences for their involvement in illegal drug activities and were in a separate, heavily secured area within the prison, with two of them previously convicted for operating a drug laboratory in Parañaque City.

"In the interest of fairness, may I move to invite former president Duterte to hear his side on this matter?" Gonzales said.

House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chair and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers declared the motion carried after it was duly seconded.

In his testimony, Tan recalled that after the murders, Supt. Gerardo Padilla, then the officer in charge of the DPPF, received a congratulatory phone call allegedly from Duterte after the Chinese drug lords were killed.

"Alam ko na ang kausap ni Superintendent Padilla ay si Presidente Duterte dahil pamilyar ko ang boses niya (I can tell that Superintendent Padilla was speaking with President Duterte because I recognize his voice)," Tan said in his sworn testament.

"Pagkatapos ng tawag, sabi ni Superintendent Padilla sa mga kasamahan niya doon, 'Tumawag si Presidente, nag-congrats sa akin.' Dahil sa sinabing ito ni Superintendent Padilla, kaya lalo akong napaniwala na ang tumawag sa kanya ay si Presidente Duterte (After the call, Superintendent Padilla told everyone there that 'The President called to congratulate me'. Because of what Superintendent Padilla said, I am convinced that the one who called him was President Duterte)," Tan added.

The House quad committee is looking into the links between Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs, the illegal drug trade, and the EJKs tied to the previous administration's drug war. (PNA)