‘No EJK funding under President Marcos’

October 28, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Unlike during the Duterte administration, President Marcos has not allocated a budget for alleged extrajudicial killings, which was reportedly inserted through confidential and intelligence funds that ballooned from 2017 to 2022, according to a congressman.

“The funds Congress allocated were for the protection of Filipino citizens, not for the wholesale violation of their rights. There was no budget item that authorized law enforcement to act as judge, jury and executioner,” Rep. Dan Fernandez said. 

“The goal was to dismantle the drug trade, not to massacre suspected users or pushers, many of whom turned out to be innocent,” he said.

Fernandez is the co-chairman of the House of Representatives quad committee that is probing extrajudicial killings under Duterte. He is also the chairman of the House public order and safety panel.

“What we’re uncovering is a betrayal of the trust Congress placed in law enforcement,” he said.

“Funds intended for legitimate anti-drug efforts were diverted into a system that rewarded killings without due process. This cannot go unpunished,” Fernandez noted, referring to the expose of retired police colonel Royina Garma, who detailed the drug war rewards system.

Fernandez, an actor-turned-lawmaker, clarified that while Congress supported the Duterte administration’s campaign to eradicate illegal drugs, there was no legislative or budgetary endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

If it is proven that government funds were used to finance the so-called cash-for-kill system in the drug war, Fernandez said it would represent not only a gross misuse of taxpayer money but also a serious violation of budgetary laws and a profound moral failure.

The bicameral Congress, he said, must exercise greater oversight in the future to ensure that appropriations are used as intended.

“This is a wake-up call for stronger safeguards and stricter controls over how confidential and intelligence funds and operational budgets are utilized,” he said.

As the quad comm continues its probe, Fernandez vowed that Congress would ensure that future budgets categorically reject practices that lead to extrajudicial killings.

“There should be no cash to kill for purposes of eradicating drug dependents. There is no line item budget for murder,” Fernandez said.

National budgets passed under Duterte earmarked billions for the war on drugs, aimed at eliminating the illegal drug trade and reducing crime, but these were not intended for a violent and lawless approach, he said.

“Let it be clear – Congress only provided billions of pesos in resources to combat the scourge of illegal drugs, but at no point did the national budget authorize funds for EJKs,” he added.