Probe to start with resource persons on killings of Barayuga, 3 Chinese convicts in Davao

Resource persons who will be invited by the Department of Justice for its probe into extrajudicials killings during the Duterte administration may be granted state witness  status if their testimonies are needed to secure a conviction, DOJ Usec. Jesse Andres said.

Andres said based on the hearings of the House Quad Committee, two possible EJK cases have a “trail of possible evidence.”

He cited the killing of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2020 and the deaths of three Chinese drug convicts at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016.

“We will talk to all the possible resource persons there and if needed, we will grant them the stature of a state witness, if their testimony is very much needed to ensure the conviction of the real perpetrators,” Andres said.

He said the DOJ will work to strengthen the testimonies that were already given during previous Quad Comm hearings.

At the House, police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza told the Quad Committee that former National Police Commission head Edilberto Leonardo and retired police colonel and former PCSO general manager Royina Garma conspired to have Barayuga killed.

Garma was also implicated in the killings of suspected Chinese drug lords Chu Kin Tung, Li Lan Yan and Wong Meng Pin inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm.

Garma admitted during a Quad Comm hearing that former President Rodrigo Duterte and other high-ranking officials during his term operationalized the so-called “Davao model” of EJKs on a nationwide scale, rewarding cops for every drug suspect killed with incentives ranging from P20,000 to P1 million.

Andres said the DOJ is evaluating the recommendations of the Quad Committee to file cases against Duterte and several other individuals linked to alleged EJKs during the previous administration’s war on drugs.

“We will ensure that everyone involved here is given the opportunity to present their side — whether you are a respondent or a witness, we will conduct a very thorough investigation,” he said.

“We assure you that we will act on the basis of evidence and hold all those involved in this crime legally accountable based on evidence,” he added.

While initial cases focused on murder charges, Andres said the DOJ is now also exploring possible violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity. 

“But now, because the area of concern is something very broad that we call crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law, we have to understand the bigger context because these crimes can only be proven if examined within a broader national scope,” Andres said.

Apart from the EJKs, the Quad Comm also pointed to the alleged involvement of high-profile figures, including Duterte’s son, Rep. Paolo Duterte, and former economic adviser Michael Yang, in the illegal drug trade.

Andres said these claims would also be investigated thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Quad Comm chairperson Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said their initial findings and recommendations were not politically motivated.

“There’s no politically motivated information that we shared. We only follow where the evidence leads us. Testimonial and documentary evidence were the basis of our committee report,” Barbers said.

“We agree that testimonoes must not be based on hearsay and witnesses must be credible. That is why we recommend for further investigation,” he added.

During the anti-drug campaign he launched shortly after taking office in 2016, Duterte ordered cops to shoot dead suspects if the police believed their lives were in danger.

“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” the 79-year-old Duterte said in a Senate hearing in October.

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “DOJ explores Quad Comm probe findings vs Rody, others.”