After 13 hearings, the Quad Committee of Congress recommended on December 18 filing of charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte and his cohorts for crimes against humanity in connection with extrajudicial killings under the bogus war on drugs. At the same time, the committee recommended separate criminal charges against those involved in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).

According to the committee’s report, one of the revelations during the hearings was the reward system set up by Duterte to fuel the “war on drugs” of his administration. This, in turn, spawned a culture of impunity that resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 12,000 to 30,000 suspected drug users. This system, according to speakers present in the hearings, followed the “Davao model” of extrajudicial killings when Duterte was still the mayor of the city. Duterte himself admitted, during an appearance at a hearing, to providing incentives to police from the left-over funds of the anti-drug operations.

Among those charged are Duterte special assistant Bong Go; former PNP chiefs Ronald Dela Rosa, Oscar Albayalde, and Debold Sinas; retired police officer Royina Garma; former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and former Go staff Herminia Espino.

The committee also recommended that Duterte, his son Paolo, other officials of his administration, and close friends be further investigated for their involvement in illegal drug trafficking.

The committee also recommended filing cases against Harry Roque and personalities involved in large-scale POGO operations, such as Alice Guo, Cassandra Li Ong, Tony Yang, and Hongjiang Yan.