MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday, Dec. 19, ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to study the recommendations of the quad committee of the House of Representatives to file criminal charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte and his former officials.
The order came a day after the House Quad Committee (Quadcom) recommended the filing of crimes against humanity charges against Duterte, Senators Christopher Lawrence Go and Ronald Dela Rosa, and other police officials for alleged summary killings in the anti-drug campaign of the previous administration.
In a media interview during the change of command of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) event in Pasay City, President Marcos emphasized the need to tediously determine the appropriateness of filing charges and ensure sufficient evidence to build up the case.
“Well, the DOJ has to make an assessment. So may recommendation ang Quadcom. Ganoon naman talaga ang proseso when they do an oversight hearing. Mayroon silang findings, ifoforward nila ngayon sa DOJ with their own recommendations as to how to handle the findings in the hearings. So we’ll go now to the DOJ,” President Marcos said on Thursday.
“The DOJ will look at it and see if it’s time to file cases; what cases to file; how to produce the evidence that we will need to actually build the case up,” he added.
He stressed the need to follow proper procedure and assess facts to verify the accuracy of Quadcom’s recommendations.
“So, titingnan pa iyan. Kailangan pang i-assess nang mabuti kung ano iyong maaring maging kaso. Kung tama ba ‘yung direksyon ng rekomendasyon ng committees from the House,” he said. (PND)
