MANILA, Philippines – The House Quad-Committee has “started to uncover a grand criminal enterprise, and it would seem that the center of it is former President Rodrigo Duterte.”

This was revealed last night by Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop as he presented the committee’s report based on the findings from 12 Quad-Com hearings.

“Napakasakit po nito dahil tayong lahat ay nabudol,” Acop said.

Reading the summarized report, Acop acknowledged the challenges faced by the Quad-Committee. “Mahirap ang trabaho dito sa Quad-Com. Walang gustong pumalag sa sistema, walang gustong bumangga sa isang popular na dating presidente, pero kami po, tulad niya, ay halal ng taumbayan,” he said.

“Kaya ipagpapatuloy ang inquiry at sisiguraduhin na ayusin ang ating batas upang masiguro na hindi na mauulit ang mga kaganapan na ating natuklasan,” he added.

Findings on the War on Drugs

Acop pointed out that, based on the hearings, the so-called war on drugs seemed to have served a different purpose.

“What do we make of the war on drugs? Mukhang the war on drugs was a convenient way to eliminate the competition in the drug trade. More specifically, the local manufacturers,” Acop stated.

He lamented, “Napakasakit because Duterte won on the platform of a hardline stance against illegal drugs and criminality. Siya pala ang mukha ng illegal na droga at kriminalidad.”

The Reward System and Killings

Acop highlighted the disturbing practices that emerged during the hearings. “We have to remember ang key feature ng war on drugs ay ang reward system. Every kill is compensated, and the bigger the catch, the higher the figure,” he said.

The report also revealed that Duterte had allegedly been giving kill orders as early as 2004. Acop questioned the motivations behind this. “All for the purpose of what? Eliminating these people in the name of drugs? In the name of competition? Whatever the reason is, patay pa rin po sila,” he said, referring to the thousands of casualties of the bloody anti-drug campaign.

“Nilunod nila ang bayan natin sa droga at kumita sila dahil dito,” Acop concluded.

📷 House of Representatives of the Philippines