As the International Criminal Court (ICC) moves forward with its case against former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, a senior member of the House Quad Committee on Monday expressed optimism that the trial will reveal the full extent to which the so-called ‘war on drugs’ was exploited to generate billions for those in power during the previous administration.
Past investigations have suggested that rather than eradicating narcotics, the campaign increased drug prices, consolidated control over the illegal market, and funneled profits into illicit businesses such as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“To put it simply: Why is the ‘War on Drugs’ a ‘Grand Budol’ (Hoodwink)? Because it’s not just bloody—it’s a billion-peso business. The small ones are pushing, killing, but the big syndicates have become even stronger. Why? Because they control the supply. And when they’re the only ones left, they also set the price,” according to House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun, a senior member of the Quad Comm.
“If there really was a war on drugs, why weren’t the big suppliers targeted? Why were only the small ones taken out, while the big ones grew even stronger? Who benefited from the soaring drug prices?” Khonghun, who chairs the House Special Committee on Bases Conversion, said.
During the House Quad Comm hearing last December, Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop, the committee’s senior vice chair, delivered the panel’s initial conclusion that Duterte’s controversial war on drugs allegedly served as a cover for a “grand criminal enterprise,” involving high-ranking government officials, systemic corruption and international drug trafficking networks.
The initial findings of the joint panel—composed of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts—indicate that Duterte and his inner circle allegedly enabled and profited from the drug trade they had publicly vowed to eliminate.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Quad Comm has started to uncover a grand criminal enterprise, and, it would seem that at the center of it is former President Duterte,” Acop said. “This is very painful because it appears we have all been scammed.”
“Our job here at Quad Comm is difficult. No one wants to clash with a popular former President. But we, like him, were elected by the people,” Acop said.
The ICC trial will provide a critical opportunity to examine how Duterte’s drug war was not just about killings, but allegedly about a vast, state-enabled financial network that profited from both the drug trade and money laundering through POGOs, Khonghun stressed.
As the international case progresses, the committee is also pushing for domestic criminal charges against those implicated in the hearings, ensuring that all financiers, enablers, and protectors of the illegal drug trade face accountability.
According to Acop’s presentation, the Duterte administration’s most trusted officials apparently wielded both the “Purse and the Sword” of the Republic, but instead of serving the people, they allegedly weaponized these powers for personal and political gain.
“It is most unfortunate, however, that the ‘Sword’ was used to slit, stab, and slash the very people it swore to protect—We the People—and the ‘Purse’ was used not to benefit the Republic, but to line the pockets of the few. They drowned our nation with drugs and profited from it,” Acop said.
He cited the testimony of former police intelligence officer Col. Eduardo Acierto, who categorically named former President Duterte and Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa as “integral personalities in allegedly protecting the illegal drugs network in the Philippines.”
Acop opened his presentation by recounting two major drug smuggling cases from 2017 and 2018, which he called the “Tale of Two Shipments.” These involved P6.4 billion and P3.4 billion worth of shabu, respectively, smuggled through the Manila International Container Port.
Testimonies from key witnesses—businessman Mark Taguba and former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban—detailed how Duterte’s son, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte; his son-in-law and husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, Manases Carpio; and his former economic adviser Michael Yang allegedly orchestrated these shipments.
Taguba and Guban testified that shipments bypassed inspections through the ‘tara’ system—a deeply entrenched bribery scheme within the Bureau of Customs where millions of pesos in grease money facilitated the unimpeded entry of drugs.
Yang, a close associate of the former President, emerged as a central figure in the Quad Comm’s investigation.
Acierto earlier presented detailed reports linking Yang to an organized drug trafficking network alongside his business partners Allan Lim (also known as Lin Weixiong) and Johnson Co.
Yang’s operations reportedly ranged from facilitating drug importation to overseeing distribution and money laundering.
Acierto’s matrix depicted an “end-to-end” drug enterprise involving precursor shipments, manufacturing and distribution across the Philippines.