4 House panels to probe possible links of POGOs to drug war deaths, drug trade

The House of Representatives has formed an unprecedented committee composed of four panels to probe the possible link of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to the illegal drug trade, extrajudicial killings involving drugs, and other crimes.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa and ex-Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque will be invited to the hearing to help shed light on the matter, according to a "24 Oras" report.

House committee chairpersons Ace Barbers of Surigao del Sur (dangerous drugs), Bienvenido Abante of Manila (human rights), Dan Fernandez of Laguna (public order and safety), and Stephen Paduano of Abang Lingkod party-list made the announcement on Wednesday, saying such an inquiry is necessary to hold perpetrators of these crimes accountable.

Abante said that while Duterte was already invited to the ongoing House human rights panel inquiry on drug war deaths during his administration and he did not show up, the former President’s presence remains just as important in the quadruple committee inquiry since the war on drugs is the centerpiece policy of his administration.

“I believe that this inquiry stems from a national security concern. We [previously] invited the former President to come sapagkat siya lang ang makakasagot ng mga tanong na ito: Bakit sinasabi ng NUPL na more than 20,000 ang napatay, 16,000 ang napatay ng the vigilante forces?” Abante said in a press conference.

(We [previously] invited the former President to come because he alone can answer these questions: Why is it that the [National Union of Peoples' Lawyers] says more than 20,000 were killed, 16,000 were killed by vigilante forces?)

Abante then said no less than the Philippine National Police submitted data to his committee showing that only 21 drug lords were killed while as many as 7,000 drug pushers and 440 drug users were killed.

Abante said there are also police officers who reported to him that there was money involved in exchange for the killing of drug personalities.

“There are exchange of money here. Ibig sabihin ang nakita namin na there might be a quota system in the Philippine National Police, number one. Although, dine-deny ito ng iba, pero ibang mga pulis nasabi nila ito," he said.

(That means we saw that there might be a quota system in the Philippine National Police, number one. Although some are denying it, other police said this is so.)

"Pangalawa (Secondly), there’s a reward system. Ibig sabihin sa reward system na 'yan, kapag nakapatay ka ng drug pusher, may reward ka. Nalaman namin na this is a testimony of one of the police that we have officer from P20K to P60K binabayad diyan,” Abante said.

(The reward system means you get a reward when you kill a drug pusher. We knew that because of a testimony of a police official that they are paid P20,000 to P60,00 per kill.)

“[Iyong] dapat i-rehabilitate ay napatay. Saan nanggagaling ang pera na ibinibigay sa mga nakakapatay na mga pulis? Iyon ang tanong namin dito. Kaya nagkasundo-sundo na kami para maimbitahan ang dating Pangulo, para sagutin niya ang lahat ng mga bagay na ito, because this concerns our national security at siya lamang ang makakasagot nito,” Abante added.

(Those who should be rehabilitated are killed. Where does the money used to give police who kill come from? That is our question. So we agreed to invite the former President so he can answer all these because this concerns our national security and only he can answer them.)

GMA News Online has contacted Duterte's former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte, the former president's son, for comment but has yet to receive their replies as of posting time.

Fernandez said that the probe into the possible link of POGOs to crimes and extrajudicial killings involving drug suspects will start on August 15.

Antipolo lawmaker and former police officer Romeo Acop, for his part, said the inquiry is not a personal attack on the President or his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.

“We're here to do our job. And our job is to find out whether the laws that we have enacted in Congress are properly implemented by the executive [department],” Acop said.

“We are not in the business of political squabble,” he added. —KG, GMA Integrated News