Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to conduct a broader investigation on the real situation of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and human rights abuses in the country for a period of at least 25 years.
Rep. Pulong filed House Resolution No. 1745 appealing to Congress to direct appropriate House committees to conduct a nationwide investigation, in aid of legislation, to include in particular areas identified to have been involved or has a history of cases of EJKs and human rights abuses.
Rep. Pulong also underscored that the House of Representatives should properly review and examine the surrounding circumstances behind the increasing incidents of EJKs throughout the nation, not just in Davao, cover a period of not only six years, but at least 25 years up to the present.
The lawmaker cited reliable reports, including from the US Department of State and Amnesty International stated that EJKs in the country remain a serious problem and many of the drug-related ones peaked in 2023 or already at the time of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Rep. Pulong mentioned in particular the reports by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and other related law enforcement agencies, among the areas with high recorded incidents of EJKs and human rights violations are the cities of Manila and Cebu and Quezon City.
“To evaluate the existing laws, rules and regulations that uphold and promote the constitutional guarantee against any form of human rights violation, it is just but proper for the House of Representatives to direct the appropriate House committees to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, to uncover the real situation of EJKs and other human rights abuses in the country for a period of at least 25 years up to the present,” Rep. Pulong said.
