(From left to right) Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano, and Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez (Facebook, PPAB)

The co-chairmen of the House quad-committee (quad-comm) have expressed great confidence in its findings and subsequent recommendations to government agencies after tackling in depth the interconnected issues of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), illegal drugs, and illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

During the plenary session on Wednesday, Dec. 18,  quad-comm overall chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers presented the mega panel’s progress report.

This includes wide-ranging recommendations, such as the filing of crimes against humanity against former president Rodrigo Duterte and his former top aides Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go, who are now incumbent senators.

Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., in his sponsorship speech, emphasized that the “time for reckoning has come”.

“Kung iniisip po natin na magagawa mo ang gusto mong gawin, na hindi mo sinusunod ang Saligang Batas dahil nasa kapangyarihan ka, nais kung sabihin, Mr. Speaker, na matatapos din ang mga bagay na ‘yan at ikaw ay hahatulan ng taongbayan,” Abante said, in reference to Duterte.

(If we think that you can do whatever you want without following the Constitution because you are in power, I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that these things will come to an end, and you will be judged by the people.)

“Ito pong House of Representatives ay ang bahay po ng taongbayan sapagkat tayong lahat ay in-elect ng taongbayan upang tayo ay magbusisi ng lahat ng katiwaliang nangyayari sa ating pamahalaan,” he told his colleagues.

(This House of Representatives is the house of the people because we have all been elected by the people to scrutinize all the anomalies happening in our government.)

Abante, a co-chairman of the quad-comm, said the findings--backed by competent evidence--were enough to make the “requisite recommendations to this legislative body and to the appropriate government agencies for appropriate and decisive actions”.

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House quad-comm recommends filing of charges vs Duterte, Dela Rosa, Go

In particular, the veteran lawmaker called out the alleged systematic violation of human rights and blatant disregard of due process during the Duterte administration’s controversial war on drugs.

He stressed that what was touted as a solution to the country’s drug problem, instead created a culture of impunity where due process and human rights were neglected.

“Ang sabi po ng Diyos (The Lord says), thou shall not kill. But the war on drugs resonated a policy of kill, kill, kill. As the former president has always said shoot them dead,” the bishop-solon noted.

Abante cited that Duterte’s public rhetoric and the “Davao model” reward system were consequential in the deaths of many Filipinos.

Human rights organizations estimate that nearly 30,000 Filipinos died during the drug war.

“As stewards of justice and as representatives of our people. It is our moral and sacred duty to hold the perpetrators accountable and to uphold the value of every human right,” said Abante.

Justice to POGO victims

Quad-comm co-chairman Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, for his part, acknowledged the panel’s findings in cracking down on personalities involved in illegal POGOs.

“Direct and indirect participation in the operation of POGO must pay the price. Di po pwede na kalimutan na natin ang nakaraan at mag move forward na tayo,” said Fernandez in his sponsorship speech.

(We cannot just forget the past and move forward.)

“We hope that the executive department, through our President Bongbong Marcos, will give justice to the families of the innocent people who were all victimized by these greedy crooks, whose sole objective was to enrich themselves with POGO money,” he added.

Based on the panel’s recommendations, a deeper investigation into certain personalities is sought to ascertain their links to illegal POGOs and other criminal activities.

Among those named were former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, POGO incorporator Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, businessman Tony Yang, and Hongjiang Yang.

Fernandez pointed out that the quad-comm has filed several measures as a result of findings in previous hearings, such as the proposed Anti-Offshore Gaming Operations Act. 

He said they are also pushing for amendments to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporations (Pagcor) Charter, Cybercrime Prevention Act, SIM Registration Act, among others.

“We are in the process of cleaning and wiping out the remnants of a bad memory that will linger in the minds of our people,” he explained.

Ending the modus operandi

In connection with illegal POGOs, the quad-comm has also investigated the proliferation of Chinese nationals who falsified their Filipino citizenships to acquire land in the country.

According to Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano, another co-chairman, the mega panel discovered that this had long been a modus operandi that was left unchecked.

Paduano said this is linked to a network of illicit activities that poses a significant threat to the national security and economy.

With this, he said the quad-comm has filed measures to combat such threat, such as the proposed bill on civil forfeiture of real estate properties unlawfully acquired by foreign nationals and the proposed administrative cancellation of birth certificates registered through fraudulent means.

“Through these legislative measures, we intend to strengthen our national security, uphold the integrity of our citizenship laws, and protect the Filipino people and our land from unlawful foreign influence,” Paduano said in his sponsorship speech.

“By enacting these measures, we take a strong stand against the exploitation of our systems by foreign nationals and criminals, and we create lasting solutions to safeguard the interests of the Filipino people,” he continued.