President Marcos is leaving it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether or not to press charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte and other individuals for crimes against humanity.

Marcos said this after the House Quad-Committee (quad-comm) recommended the filing of charges for crimes against humanity against Duterte and his allies Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go due to his bloody drug war.

Other personalities tagged in the House quad-comm partial committee report were former Philippine National Police (PNP) chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas; retired police colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo; and former Malacañan aide Irmina "Muking" Espino.

In an interview in Pasay City on Thursday morning, Dec. 19, the President said he was aware of the recommendations and emphasized the procedural nature of the next steps.

"The DOJ has to make that assessment. Ganoon naman talaga ang proseso (that's the process)," he said.

"When they (quad-comm) do an oversight hearing, meron silang findings, ifo-forward nila ngayon sa DOJ (they will forward their findings to the DOJ) with their own recommendations as to how to handle the findings in the hearings," he added.

The President said the DOJ would then analyze these findings to determine if there is sufficient ground to file cases against Duterte and his allies, what specific charges could be applicable, and how to construct a legal case.

"We will go now to the DOJ. The DOJ will look at it and see if there are... it is time to file cases, what cases to file, how to produce the evidence, and we will need to actually build the case up," he said.

Marcos then stressed the need for a thorough assessment before any legal actions could be pursued.

"Kailangan pa i-assess nang mabuti kung ano yung maaaring maging kaso, tama ba yung direksyon ng rekomendasyon ng committees from House (They need to thoroughly assess the findings to determine which cases to file and to see if quad-comm recommendations are appropriate)," he said.

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, Quad-comm overall chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers presented the special four-way panel's partial committee report during the year's final session day.

"The quad-committee likewise recommends the filing of appropriate charges against the following personalities," Barbers said, mentioning Duterte, Dela Rosa, and Go, among others.

Barbers tagged the trio as "perpetrators of crimes against humanity under Section 6, Republic Act (RA) No.9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity."

The mega-panel has been looking into the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), extrajudicial killings (EJKs), money laundering, illegal drugs, and the previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs.

The quad-comm has held 13 marathon hearings since August, with the elder Duterte serving as its highest-profile witness. During a Nov. 13 hearing, Duterte confirmed that he took full responsibility for what transpired during his drug war.