MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to classify extrajudicial killing (EJK) as a heinous crime has been filed by members of the House of Representatives’ quad committee.
In filing House Bill No. 10986 or the Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Act, quad comm members cited the need for stringent legal standards to address these crimes and ensure accountability for perpetrators.
“Extrajudicial killing or the killing of individuals without judicial proceedings or legal authority, poses a grave threat to the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
“These acts bypass established judicial procedures, undermining public trust in the justice system and violating the basic rights to life and due process guaranteed by the Constitution,” according to HB 10986.
“The lack of accountability for such crimes contributes to a culture of impunity, where perpetrators believe they can act without fear of legal consequences,” it added.
The bill seeks to explicitly criminalize EJKs to ensure “that any individual, regardless of rank or position, who is found guilty of participating in, authorizing, or condoning such acts will face appropriate criminal penalties.”
As a heinous crime, EJK would be punishable by life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
Under the proposed law, EJKs refer to unlawful killings carried out by state agents or those acting with the acquiescence or tolerance of state authorities.
“Extrajudicial killing refers to any killing other than that imposed by the State pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution on heinous crimes or a deliberate and arbitrary killing of any person not authorized by a previous judgment pronounced by a competent court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples,” according to HB 10986.
The measure was penned by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, quad comm chairs Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez, Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Joseph Stephen Paduano, along with Representatives Romeo Acop, Johnny Pimentel, Gerville Luistro, Rodge Gutierrez, Paolo Ortega V, Jay Khonghun and Jonathan Keith Flores, among others. The quad comm refers to the four House committees jointly investigating the interconnection between drug-related and political killings especially during the previous Duterte administration and criminal activities involving Philippine offshore gaming operators.