On Wednesday (August 28), the Philippine House of Representatives resumed the joint investigation into the relationship between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) and illegal drug trade.
This large group, referred to by the lawmakers as the Quadrilateral Committee or "Quad Committee," is led by the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Committee, Representative Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, Second District), with other members including the chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano, the chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Safety Dan Fernandez, and the chairman of the Committee on Human Rights Bienvenido Abante.
The third hearing was held after Barbers chaired the Quad Committee's investigation into extrajudicial killings related to the drug war launched during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Two detainees, Fernando Magdadaro and Leopoldo Untalan Tan Jr., testified that Duterte ordered the killing of three Chinese drug lords inside the maximum security facility of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in August 2016.
The witnesses claimed that they were promised freedom and a cash reward of one million pesos each, totaling three million pesos, if they killed the three Chinese drug lords, namely Chu Kin Tung (alias Tony Lim), Li Lan Yan (alias Jackson Li), and Wong Meng Pin (alias Wang Ming Ping).
This prompted the Quad Committee to invite Duterte to the public hearing.
