Quad Committee prepares report on EJK, drugs, POGOs

The House Quad Committee is preparing an initial progress report based on 12 hearings about extrajudicial killings (EJK), dangerous drugs, and illegal activities linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) for submission before the Congress goes into recess on December 21.

Panel chair Robert Ace Barbers stated that the committee aims to consolidate findings from hearings since August, which have resulted in crafting several remedial legislative measures including four bills amending the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165).

The committee also proposed a bill defining extrajudicial killing as a heinous crime and imposing maximum penalties on offenders, and another to create an inter-agency government committee led by the Philippine Statistics Authority for expediting administrative cancellations of questionable birth certificates.

Barbers emphasized that the quad comm would recommend filing charges against individuals linked to illegal drugs, illicit POGOs, and extrajudicial killings while focusing its probe primarily on these issues and terminating the investigation into POGO-related activities.

The committee will no longer invite former President Rodrigo Duterte to future hearings as his previous statements were deemed sufficient for their inquiry.