Quad comm: Chinese-led crimes akin to ‘rape’ of PH
After 15 hearings and over 100 hours of grilling various resource persons—including former President Rodrigo Duterte—the House of Representatives’ quad committee (quad comm) has concluded that the country had been exploited by unscrupulous Chinese nationals abetted by Filipino officials.
Or, in other words, “The Chinese raped us but we helped them rape us,” as Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said right in his opening remarks in the final hearing by the committee on Monday.
Barbers, who heads the super panel, said in so many words that its findings were one for the record books.
“What we have all witnessed in the quad comm investigations are almost unbelievable. One for Ripley’s, with unnerving twists and turns, bloody conspiracies, unexpected seeming coincidences, leaving behind a gruesome trail of blood, making all Mafia movies look tame and boring—yet with one cohesive plot that makes any conspiracy theory, Hollywood and James Bond movies combined pale in comparison,” he said.
The panel—made up of the House committees on human rights, on public accounts, on dangerous drugs, and on public order and safety—looked into the links between extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the Duterte administration’s drug war, Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), human trafficking and other crimes.
“The words betrayal, traitors, unpatriotic are not enough to describe the despicable, wicked and perhaps even evil acts of collaboration that some of our leaders, elected officials and civil servants extended to these criminals,” Barbers said.
‘Layers of entities’
He said the quad committee “confronted some of the most alarming and deeply rooted threats to our nation—EJKs as a result of a much-publicized drug war, the illegal drug trade then and now, and the illicit operations of Pogos, sponsored by and courtesy of Executive Order No. 13.”
Barbers was referring to Duterte’s 2017 directive which led to the establishment of Pogos as a new, if controversial, sector in business.
While Pogos helped spur commercial activity around their operations, they had also “evolved into breeding grounds for transnational crime—human trafficking, crypto scams, money laundering, identity fraud, torture and even murder,” he said.
The quad committee’s inquiry pointed to a “well-coordinated Chinese criminal syndicate operating through layers of corporate entities, nominee shareholders and corrupt public officials” with ties to major drug cases, Barbers said.
He also said the inquiry shed light on critical flaws in the drug war. “Launched with the promise of eradicating criminality in three to six months, this campaign devolved into a state-sponsored bloodbath that normalized EJK as policy,” he said.
He noted, for instance, the confirmation of a reward system in which police personnel earned cash, promotions or favorable assignments for neutralizing people arbitrarily included in the Duterte administration’s “narco-list.”
Barbers cited records by the Philippine National Police which placed at 7,640 the number of deaths in antidrug operations from July 2016, when Duterte assumed the presidency, to June 2022, his last period in office.
The lawmaker also cited human rights groups’ estimate of around 30,000 deaths on Duterte’s watch. “Whatever the final tally, the testimonies we have received—often harrowing, sometimes from law enforcement officers themselves—confirm a systematic pattern of abuse where legal safeguards were discarded and human lives were treated as expendable,” Barbers said.
“Let me be clear: these are not mere allegations. Our findings are anchored on official documents, sworn testimonies, financial records, land registries, corporate filings and, in some cases, direct admissions. The record is clear—and damning,” he added.
Stricter policies
Barbers said it was now time for action, based on the quad committee’s recommendations.
“The duty now falls upon us to ensure that these findings lead to real consequences,” he said. “We must demand accountability—not only for the victims of extrajudicial killings and those exploited by Pogo-linked criminal networks—but for the Filipino people, whose trust in their institutions has been deeply shaken.”
For Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, stricter policies should be enforced to prevent the resurgence of Pogos after President Marcos issued EO No. 74 in November 2024 directing the phaseout of their operations by the end of that year.
“Loopholes in the law should be filled, immigration control should be enhanced in the country’s entry and exit points, and there should be stronger coordination between government agencies, financial institutions and intelligence units,” said Fernandez, chair of the committee on public order and safety.
“So Pogos can no longer operate in any form, it is only right to ensure that they can no longer hide behind a fake business,” he added.
Not racism
Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, chair of the committee on public accounts, emphasized that, “While our investigation has implicated several Chinese individuals in the issues at hand, this should not, in any way, be construed as state-sponsored racism against our fellow citizens of Chinese descent or nationals from mainland China.”
“Our government must never be used as a tool to oppress or discriminate against any particular ethnicity or nationality. On the contrary, we have consistently encouraged kindness, respect, and responsiveness toward people of all backgrounds,” he added.
Paduano said both Filipinos and Chinese “allowed themselves to be used to undermine our institutions and sow division among our people.”
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said: “What began as a search for answers has evolved into a reckoning. Through these hearings, we have not merely uncovered wrongdoing—we have brought these evils into the light, where they can no longer hide behind rank, uniform, or position.”
“We have exposed not just wrongdoing, but a system that allowed evil to thrive,” said Abante, the human rights committee chair.
According to Abante, the quad committee’s inquiry prompted legislation that would “close the gaps that allowed impunity to reign”—including House Bill (HB) No. 10986 which classifies EJKs as a heinous crime; HB 10987 banning the Pogo industry; HB 11043 allowing the civil forfeiture of real estate unlawfully acquired by foreign nationals; HB 11117 authorizing the state to cancel birth certificates fraudulently obtained by foreigners; and HB 10998, which punishes conspiracy to commit espionage.
He said: “The legacy of the quad committee is not a single law, not a single report—but a declaration: No more.”
“No more shall this Republic tolerate murder disguised as law enforcement. No more shall our laws be twisted to serve the greedy and corrupt. No more shall we allow evil to grow in silence, fed by fear and impunity. We have learned. And because we have learned, we will not allow these evils to return.”
