The Department of Justice (DOJ) may summon former President Rodrigo Duterte in its investigation of extrajudicial killings (EJK) linked to his bloody drug war.
The DOJ has formed a task force on EJK to look into Duterte’s campaign, which had killed around 30,000 people based on human rights records.
In a chance interview, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres was asked if the agency would issue a subpoena for Duterte after the House quad-committee recommended filing a case against him for supposed crimes against humanity.
“We will look into that possibility,” Andres said.
“As of now, there are already admissions on record made by the former president and that is evidence that is admissible because these are all under oath and in a public proceeding,” he said.
Andres said former presidents are not immune from suit.
The quad-committee has been conducting inquiries on the drug war and offshore gaming.
During Duterte’s first attendance at the hearing, he admitted that he killed drug suspects and erring police officers. He also said he had requested a higher budget for the Office of the President for his drug war reward system, in which cops were given prize money in exchange for killing drug suspects.
The House panel also recommended filing cases against Senators Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go, who were both implicated in the hearings.
The International Criminal Court has been reviewing supposed crimes against humanity committed by Duterte and dela Rosa, who was the top police chief when the campaign was launched.
