DAVAO CITY – Rep. Paolo Duterte here has sought a congressional inquiry into the reported extrajudicial killings in the country over the past 25 years.

The lawmaker filed House Resolution 1745 on Wednesday, May 22, after the House Committee on Human Rights began investigating deaths related to police anti-drug operations during the term of his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Rep. Duterte said in his resolution that as part of the duties and functions of the House of Representatives, it is prudent to revisit and scrutinize the surrounding circumstances behind the progressing extrajudicial killings in the country for at least a period covering the last 25 years up to the present and evaluate existing laws, rules, and regulations that uphold and promote the constitutional guarantee against any form of human rights violations.

“Let us look at the totality, the whole picture, where we can see that the human rights violations have been perennial threats against a significant number of Filipinos for several decades now,” Rep. Duterte said on his official Facebook page.

Rep. Duterte said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Philippine National Police (PNP) should collaborate with the congressional investigation, as they are considered the most reliable sources of information on extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.

He added that he US Department of State and Amnesty International reported that extrajudicial killings in the Philippines continue to be a significant issue even under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“We call the CHR, DILG, PNP, and all the related officials of pertinent LGUs and their respective Local Chief Executives, in particular with Manila City, Cebu City, and Quezon City, to be part of the investigation,” the lawmaker said.

According to the police and DILG records, the cities of Manila, Cebu, and Quezon have recorded the highest number of extrajudicial killing incidents and other human rights violations.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently investigating the former Chief Executive and other high-ranking officials from his administration for alleged crimes against humanity related to systematic drug deaths during police operations under his tenure.

Around 6,200 drug suspects were killed in police operations during the Duterte administration. Human rights organizations said that the actual number could be as high as 30,000 due to unreported killings.

Former President Duterte maintained that the Philippines is not under the ICC jurisdiction after withdrawing from the Rome Statute in March 2019. The Marcos administration also refuses to cooperate with the ICC investigation.