Former President Rodrigo Duterte skipped the October 22 House Quad Committee hearing on extrajudicial killings tied to his anti-drug campaign. His lawyer, Martin Delgra III, cited health concerns and recent travel as reasons for the absence, requesting to postpone his appearance.
Committee chair Rep. Robert Ace Barbers invited Duterte to address allegations of a reward system for killing high-profile drug suspects and the use of the “Davao template” for extrajudicial killings. The inquiry also seeks his comments on the 2016 murders of Chinese drug lords in Davao prison.
Rights groups estimate over 20,000 deaths during Duterte’s drug war, a figure significantly higher than official government counts.
