House solons on Friday said that the testimonies made by two convicted hitmen were sufficient to file a case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I humbly submit, that at the very least, the crime of murder under the Revised Penal Code, particularly under Article 248 has been established,” Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said in a statement.
“Two qualifying circumstances are present. One, is evident premeditation, planned killing. Second, killing was done in consideration of prize, reward or pledge. The killing was because of the money paid and promised freedom,” she said.
Luistro further said that if there is evidence to establish that the killings of the three Chinese is part of the widespread or systematic attack against civilian population, “then crime against humanity, und er Article 7, Rome Statute is likewise established.”
Surigao Del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers, chair of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the testimonies cannot be dismissed since no less than the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has informed the House that there are inmates who are willing to testify on the drug war deaths during the previous administration.
“It was PDEA Director General who reached out to us that these people who were sent to prison and convicted [who] want to testify on extrajudicial killings 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,” he added.
During Thursday’s hearing, two persons deprived of liberty (PDL) —Fernando Magdadaro and Leopoldo Tan Jr. — claimed they killed three Chinese drug convicts in Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016 on orders from then-President Duterte.
They told the House probe that instead of being paid P1 million per kill, meaning P6 million in total for both of them who killed the three Chinese in a joint operation, they only got paid P1 million each.
Worst of all, they were convicted of homicide and were not freed as promised, they said.
Meanwhile, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez and Barbers called on Duterte and his allies to prove that they had no hand in the killings and that the former president’s calls to kill people were just jokes.
“This is the right moment for the former administration, especially to its former officials and the former president…that they were correct in saying that the pronouncements of the former President were all jokes or strong words but were not for real,” said Fernandez who chairs the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, which jointly conducts the Quad hearings with Barbers.
“We still remember the time when the former President was always saying, I will kill you, that he will push them off a helicopter,” he recalled.
At that time, officials and allies of Duterte would always defend him by saying that he was just joking or talking in hyperbole
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, chairperson of the committee on human rights, said the goal of the investigation is not to vilify or to shield any individual but “to uncover the truth and to ensure that justice is served.”
“Justice is our goal, and not harassment. I call upon all who have been summoned to testify to fulfill their duty as public servants. Let all sides be heard, and let no one say that they were not given the opportunity to present evidence in their defense,” he said.
“These evils, left unchecked, have the power to erode our values, destroy our communities, and claim the lives of our countrymen,” he added.
Tan and Magdadaro were the latest witnesses presented before the quad committee, identifying the three victim as Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li, and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping, who were serving sentences for their involvement in illegal drug activities in Parañaque City.