MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will leave it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) if they will file charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte and others over the past administration’s war on drugs.
The Chief Executive’s remark came after the House of Representatives’ Quad Committee (QuadComm) recommended to charge Duterte, senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Bong Go for alleged violation of the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
Also recommended for charging are former Philippine National Police chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas, retired Police Colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo, as well as former Palace Assistant Irmina “Muking” Espino.
“The DOJ will look at it and see if there are — if it is time to file cases, what cases to file, how to produce the evidence, and we will need to actually build the case up,” Marcos said in an interview on Thursday.
“So titingnan pa ‘yan. Marami pa. Kailangan pa i-assess nang mabuti kung ano ‘yung maaaring maging kaso, tama ba ‘yung direksyon ng rekomendasyon ng committees from House,” he added.
The House QuadComm investigated the deaths linked to Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign and the crimes related to the operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related slays.
The former president has previously said that he will take “full, legal responsibility” for the drug war./PN
