Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILABULLETIN)

It was the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that tipped the House quad-committee (quad-comm) on the willingness of some inmates to testify about the drug war-related killings during the previous Duterte administration. 

In a recent online press conference, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers shared how the quad-comm was able to get inmates Leopoldo “Tata” Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro as witnesses. 

Barbers is the lead chairman of the special four-way panel that is looking into to the interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), illegal drugs, and extrajudicial killings during Rodrigo Duterte's tenure. 

"It was PDEA Director General [Virgilio Lazo] who reached out to us that these people who were sent to prison and convicted who want to testify on [EJKs] because of threats during the previous administration," Barbers said.  

"We evaluated the situation and sought legal experts for comments, and we saw that their testimony has value because their testimonies are very serious," added the Nacionalista Party (NP) member. 

During the quad-comm's hearing last Thursday, Tan and Magdadaro testified that they killed the three Chinese drug lords at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) under alleged orders from then-President Duterte, shortly after he launched his anti-drug campaign. 

According to the inmates, they were promised P1 million for each kill, as well as their freedom. However, they only received P2 million, and they were never released from jail. 

At any rate, Barbers who hails from Mindanao like Duterte, denied allegations that the quad-comm was carrying out a demolition job against the former chief executive. 

"Mula nag-umpisa itong quad-comm, marami na pong bumabatikos, sinasabi nila na ito daw ay politically motivated, ito daw ay witch hunt. Ito daw ay walang patutunguhan. Para sa amin sa quad-comm, naniniwala kami na ang aming layunin ay ilabas ang katotohanan. Hindi dahil sa may mga nabanggit ng personalidad, kundi to ferret out the truth on the issues of EJK at saka yung smuggling of illegal drugs,” he said. 

(From the onset, the acts of the quad-comm has been maligned, described as politically motivated and  witch hunt. They said it won't go anywhere. For us in the quad-comm, we believe that our aim is to expose the truth. Not because certain personalities were mentioned, but to ferret out the truth on the issues of EJK and drug smuggling.)