Quadcom respects Duterte's decision not to testify on drug war allegations

The House quad committee (Quadcom) will respect former President Rodrigo Duterte's decision if he declines their invitation to appear before a joint investigation into perceived extrajudicial killings during his administration.

Committee chair Robert Ace Barbers emphasized that Duterte will not be cited in contempt should he decline the invitation, out of deference to him being the former president.

Barbers clarified that this courtesy would not extend to other government officials who might refuse to appear before the committee.

Duterte was invited nearly a month ago to address allegations implicating him in the 2016 killings of three convicted Chinese drug lords inside a Davao prison, but there has been no reply yet to his invitation.

The quad committee is investigating Duterte and other top officials from his administration amid an ICC probe into alleged crimes against humanity related to the drug war deaths during his tenure.

While police records show around 6,000 deaths in connection with the drug war, human rights groups estimate that vigilante killings may have pushed the total number of deaths to as many as 30,000.