ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Facebook, Malacañang photo)

Citing the revelations made by Royina Garma before the House quad-committee (quad-comm), ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro has called for the filing of charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte over the alleged "incentivized" killing of suspects during his aggressive war on illegal drugs. 

"The harrowing revelations by Col. Garma underscore a systematic approach to incentivizing killings, a move that led to the deaths of thousands of Filipinos under the guise of the war on drugs. This 'reward system' is a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law," Castro, a senatorial aspirant from the militant Makabayan bloc, said in a statement Saturday, Oct. 12. 

Garma, a retired police colonel and a former appointee of Duterte as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager, claimed during the House quad-committee hearing Friday night that the latter sought her help in expanding the "Davao model" of the drug war on a nationwide scale when he was elected as president in May 2016. 

According to Castro, Garma's testimony confirmed that Duterte offered cash rewards for each drug suspect killed--a strategy that the lady solon said was a continuation of the practices from his time as Davao City mayor. 

"Such operations, which essentially turned human lives into mere statistics for rewards, highlight the urgent need for accountability," Castro continued. 

"We call on the authorities to pursue charges against Duterte and all those implicated in these state-sanctioned atrocities," the militant lawmaker said. 

Justice via ICC 

Castro said the Makabayan Bloc supports the calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue warrants of arrest against Duterte and his cohorts, as echoed by rights groups like Karapatan. 

"Justice must be served for the victims and their families who continue to suffer in silence. We must ensure that such dark chapters in our history never repeat themselves. The culture of impunity must end, and it starts with holding those in power accountable for their actions," she said. 

Another Makabayan solon, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, said that it's now time for President Marcos to cooperate with the ICC in its EJK investigation. 

During the same quad-comm hearing, several relatives of the drug war EJK victims appeared before the mega-panel to share the heartbreaking details of the deaths of the loved ones. 

These relatives came from Caloocan City, Quezon City and Cebu. 

Former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares, who attended the hearing in his capacity as a human rights lawyer, said these individuals are hoping to get justice from the United Nations (UN)-backed ICC. 

Colmenares, who represented the National Union of People’s Lawyers that had been cooperating with the ICC probe, said EJK perpetrators made sure that they left no evidence of their crimes. 

“Mahirap magsampa ng mga kaso dito sa atin kasi mahirap kumuha ng ebidensiya. Walang CCTV (closed circuit television), walang police report, walang pulis na nag-imbestiga. Pati prosecutor, ayaw mag-file ng kaso,” he told the special four-way panel. 

(It's hard to file cases here because it's hard to gather evidence. There is no CCTV footage, no police report, no police investigator. Even the prosecutors don't want to file cases.) 

Colmenares said the death certificates showed that some of the slain victims “died of broncho-pneumonia". He said EJK perpetrators, mostly policemen, claimed self-defense in killing the victims. 

He added that the ICC has been looking into EJKs “since 2017 to 2018".