Former president Rodrigo Duterte (Arnold Quizol/ MANILA BULLETIN)

House quad-committee (quad-comm) co-chairmen Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. and Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez believe that Rodrigo Duterte is in trouble with the law following the ex-president's admission on Monday, Oct. 28 before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. 

Duterte was the high-profile resource person during the Blue Ribbon panel's first hearing on the ex-president's bloody war on drugs. 

During the hearing, a rambling Duterte practically admitted to having responsibility over the drug war killings. 

Abante says the former chief executive's remarks could implicate him in both Philippine and international courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

Abante noted that Philippine law prohibits murder and extrajudicial killings (EJKs). He warned that Duterte may no longer be shielded from investigation and prosecution. 

“While he was President, the law and political considerations protected him. But now, this admission might be seen as enough basis for both Philippine and ICC prosecutors to hold him accountable,” explained the veteran solon from Manila. 

"The House quad-comm has already unearthed evidence and testimony that bolster allegations that the victims of the war on drugs were innocent, na sila ay biktima ng isang kampanya na binigay ng basbas ng Malacañang (that they were the victims of a campaign green-lit by Malacañang)," said Abante. 

"We have testimony that shows that the president issued directives and gave the green light to a reward system that led to the death of innocents. If the former president says that he is taking responsibility for the illegal and fatal acts of law enforcement during his administration, then he should be held accountable," she pointed out. 

The ICC, which had initiated a preliminary examination of the anti-drug campaign, could potentially interpret Duterte’s statements as an endorsement of systematic actions against alleged drug offenders, a potential crime against humanity. 

Although the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, Abante said that the court retains jurisdiction over incidents committed before this date. This covered the alleged EJKs committed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) during Duterte’s tenure. 

“(Duterte's) admission should be taken seriously by both Philippine authorities and the international community. This is a crucial opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to human rights, justice, and the rule of law,” stressed Abante. 

“The legal basis is there. We owe it to the victims and the Filipino people to pursue justice without fear or favor," he added. 

'Provoked to fight back?' 

Meanwhile, Fernandez said Duterte’s statement before the Blue Ribbon panel that he had told police officers to provoke drug suspects to fight back during their operations so they may be killed in the name of self-defense was a violation of law. 

"I think kung i-encourage mo ang ating mga kapulisan ng killings and to make it look like they are fighting back, medyo sala yun sa atin pong probisyon ng ating Saligang Batas," the Laguna lawmaker said. 

(I think it's against the provision of the Constitution to encourage police who carried out killings to make it look like the drug suspects were fighting back.) 

"So I think we have to be careful no...mabigat kasi yung mga salitang sinasabi ng nakaraang adminsitrasyon at ng kanilang mga kapulisan that time," added Fernandez. 

(The statements of the previous administration and police at that time were shocking). 

Duterte repeatedly said during the Senate hearing that he would rather see criminals dead than the members of the PNP. 

The quad-comm was the first in Congress to conduct a inquiry in aid of legislation on the war on drugs. The Blue Ribbon panel is carrying out parallel probe.