Lawmakers call on Duterte, allies to prove his 'kill' remarks were jokes, hyperbole

House leaders on Friday called on former President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies to prove that his previous statements of killing drug personalities were just jokes.

Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez and Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers made the call a day after convicted hitmen testified during a House hearing that Duterte issued kill orders on three Chinese drug convicts in prison.

Fernandez chairs the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, which jointly conducted the hearing with Barbers' Committee on Dangerous Drugs.

During Thursday's hearing, two persons deprived of liberty (PDL) —Fernando Magdadaro and Leopoldo Tan Jr. — said they killed three Chinese drug convicts in Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016 on orders from then-President Duterte.

According to them, they were promised P1 million payout per kill and freedom, which never came to fruition. 

"This is the right moment for the former administration, especially to its former officials and the former president, to justify... that they were correct in saying that the pronouncements of the former President were all jokes or strong words but are not real," Fernandez said. 

"We still remember the time when the former President was always saying, 'Papapatayin kita, maihulog kita sa helicopter.' Mga things like that," he added. 

(The former President used to say that he will kill people, that he will push them off helicopter.)

At that time, officials and allies of Duterte would always defend him by saying that he was just joking or talking in hyperbole.

Barbers, for his part, said Magdadaro and Tan's 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.

The PDLs 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 operations, they only got paid P1 million each.

Worst, they were convicted of homicide and were not freed as promised.

Atty. Salvador Panelo, presidential spokesperson and legal counsel during the Duterte administration, earlier dismissed Magdadaro and Tan's accusations, saying they would say anything in exchange for favor, including money. 

''Obviously, they [are] making those statements for a consideration. If it is true as they say that they killed the 3 Chinese in exchange for money and release from prison, necessarily they can lie about FPRRD’s alleged link to the murders for the same consideration of money and freedom coming from those who want to destroy the Dutertes,'' Panelo said Thursday, adding that the accusations were part of a "demolition job" against the former President.

'Presumption of regularity'

GMA News Online has reached out to Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a close ally of Duterte who served as national police chief during the early part of his administration, for his comments regarding Fernandez and Barbers' statements, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

In his latest statement, Panelo stressed that lawmakers should be reminded on the basic rule on evidence wherein ''who alleges must prove.''

''If the congressmen are alleging that it extrajudicial killing was the policy of the Duterte administration enforcing the law, then they should prove that that was the policy of the Duterte administration, not the other way around,'' Panelo said.

''The presumption of regularity in the enforcement of the law is observed in this jurisdiction. They must show proof that there was irregularity in the implementation of the law,'' he added.

Panelo also urged them to revisit Duterte's first SONA in which the latter declared a war against illegal drugs and warned that law enforcement officers who abuse their power will have ''hell to pay.''

''In short, the war on drugs must be pursued vigorously and relentlessly and in accordance with law, otherwise the law enforcer who violates the rules on engagement will be prosecuted to the full extent of law,'' Panelo said. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News