'No EJK funding under Marcos'

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.

- By DELON PORCALLA

"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.