The Quad Committee will focus on alleged drug smuggling done through various ports across the country when it resumes hearings on Tuesday, panel lead chairman Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said.
“We are waiting for a resource person whom we expected to confirm attendance. The hearing will focus on the increase in drugs that allegedly are smuggled through ports in the past years,” Barbers told dzBB in an interview yesterday.
He said the super committee will propose measures to ensure those behind drug smuggling are punished, including government officials.
Barbers said former Bureau of Customs official Jimmy Guban and Customs “fixer” Mark Taguba are among the resource persons to be invited to the hearings.
Earlier this month, a Pulse Asia survey showed that 6 out of 10 Filipinos are in favor of the House Quad Committee’s probe into EJKs, illegal drugs, and illegal POGO activities.
The survey also highlighted what the public wanted the most to achieve from the Quad Comm investigations. For 37 percent of the respondents, they expect the Quad Comm to be able to identify the government officials responsible for EJKs, illegal drug activities, and illicit POGO operations.
Another 27 percent expressed hope the investigations will lead to the creation of new laws to address these issues, while 11 percent wanted the investigations to result in the prosecution and conviction of those involved in these criminal networks.
The Commission on Human Rights, for its part, said in December it supports a recommendation of the Quad Comm to file crimes against humanity charges against those involved in EJKs during the Duterte administration.
Throughout the 13 Quad Comm hearings, the CHR said it has consistently monitored the testimonies, affidavits and sworn statements of all resource persons to ensure that human rights violations are actively addressed by the state and that perpetrators are held accountable.
Specifically, the committee called for the filing of charges against ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Go, ex-Philippine National Police chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas, ex-colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo and former Malacañang official “Muking” Espino.
“The CHR views the collective action of the Philippine government and civil society towards supporting the victims of extrajudicial killings and their families as a crucial step in reshaping the Philippines’ drug policy in a way that upholds human rights, justice and accountability. No one, regardless of position or rank, should be allowed to stand above the law,” the CHR said.
The Department of Justice likewise raised the possibility of granting state witness status to resource persons who will be invited for its parallel probe into EJKs if their testimonies are needed to secure a conviction.
Garma admitted during a Quad Comm hearing that former President Duterte and other high-ranking officials during his term operationalized the so-called “Davao model” of EJKs on a nationwide scale, rewarding cops for every drug suspect killed with incentives ranging from P20,000 to P1 million.
During the anti-drug campaign he launched shortly after taking office in 2016, Duterte ordered cops to shoot dead suspects if the police believed their lives were in danger.
“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” the 79-year-old Duterte said in a Senate hearing in October.