New personalities attended the ninth public hearing of the House of Representatives Quad Committee on Tuesday, to further ascertain the veracity of the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under the Duterte's anti-drug campaign.
Former Sen. Leila De Lima, who was arbitrarily detained for criticizing the previous administration, opened up the relevance of their 2009 Commission on Human Rights (CHR) investigations into the 'Davao Death Squad' when she was the agency's chairperson.
"Sasabihin ko lang po na mahalaga 'yong naging CHR investigation namin in 2009 into the DDS killings, kasi pwede itong maging reference point in terms of painting a picture of the organization -- the Davao's death squad, the operation and the implementation of the Duterte drug war from the barangay to the national level," De Lima said.
De Lima also stated that former President Rodrigo Duterte could be held accountable for crimes against humanity under Philippine law for the extrajudicial killings during his drug war. She emphasized that Republic Act 9851, which punishes such crimes, holds both direct perpetrators and those in leadership positions responsible and does not exempt government officials from prosecution.
The quad comm then cited Police Capt. Kenneth Albotra is in contempt for lying under oath after consistently withholding information about what happened to his fellow officers.
Retired Police Col. Royina Garma stated in her first affidavit that Albotra bragged about being part of the team that assassinated ex-Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Hallili in 2018.
Lawmakers also noticed that Albotra frequently transferred assignments, coinciding with the locations where the politicians were killed.
Former Los Baños, Laguna Councilor Norvin Tamisin also emotionally testified for being falsely accused in the 2020 murder of ex-Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez, an alleged victim of EJK during Duterte's administration.
Tamisin shared that CCTV footage proving his innocence was withheld by the authorities and criticized certain police officers for wrongfully implicating innocent people.
Baybay, Leyte provincial jail officers also testified before the quad comm and recounted the details of how the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) officers stormed the jail facilities and forced their way into Albuera, Leyte ex-Mayor Rolando Espinosa and Raul Yap's detention cells.
Jail officer Julito Retana said the CIDG personnel seized their keys and did not present a search warrant to confiscate Espinosa's alleged firearms.
Former Baybay detainee Donald "Dondon" Palermo testified that he heard Espinosa pleading for his life before he was gunned down in the wee hours of Nov. 5, 2016. He also believes the firearms recovered from Espinosa and Yap were planted because he saw an officer enter their cells with two firearms and later noticed that the officer no longer had them after leaving the detention area.
A certain Police Maj. Leo Laraga was also charged with contempt for lying when asked by Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop about the validity of his informant's purported firsthand knowledge of Espinosa's firearm inside his detention cell.
Meanwhile, former National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo has also substantiated the accuracy of Garma's first and supplemental affidavits. The affidavits confirmed the details of the cash reward system allegedly implemented during Duterte's anti-drug campaign.
During the anti-drug war, thousands of EJKs were recorded, with allegations that law enforcement officers were involved in killing innocent people due to the reward system in place at that time.
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