In this 2018 file photo, relatives of victims killed in the government's drug war gather at the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) to support each other. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The House of Representatives' recommendation for the filing of cases related to killings in the previous administration's war on drugs should lead to actual prosecution, lawyers representing the families of some victims said Thursday.

In a statement, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers and Rise Up for Life and for Rights said that the recommendation of criminal charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte, his former top aides Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go and several others affirms their belief about who bears responsibility for the killings in the previous administration.

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They also said the recommendations of the quad committee that the House adopted are "only as good and acceptable as the results in the courts will be."

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the Department of Justice will have to go through the findings to see if criminal complaints are warranted and what those complaints will allege.

"We will need to actually build the case up. Titingnan pa 'yan, marami pang kailangan pang i-assess nang mabuti (It will have to be studied, there are many things that need to be assessed thoroughly)," the President added.

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"We challenge the Department of Justice to give due course to the recommendations and methodically work on the evidence unearthed during the quad comm hearings, and on all other records held in disparate agencies of government," NUPL and Rise Up said in a joint statement.

They said they would support charges against direct perpetrators of the alleged killings as well as their superiors and co-conspirators.

DUTERTE'S PARTY CRIES FOUL

Duterte's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) on Thursday condemned the House quad comm and its findings, saying the recommendations and the hearings that led to them were "clearly politically motivated and with no clear legal and evidentiary basis."

It said that testimonies that the quad comm gathered during its hearings were "obtained under pressure or coercion" because of the threat of beign cited for contempt and detained by the House.

"The QuadComm also conducted the hearings on the anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration without due process and a strong anti-Duterte bias, obviously carried over from the hearings of another House committee attempting to pin down Vice President Sara Duterte on alleged fund misuse," the party said.

It said that the quad comm hearings are part of a "carefully planned, well-funded, but poorly executed demolition job" by the House of Representatives against the Dutertes.

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BAYAN MUNA: HOUSE RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD COMPLEMENT ICC PROBE

In a separate statement, Bayan Muna party-list called the quad comm's findings a "significant step in the Filipino people's long search for justice" over killings in the war on drugs but that any cases filed should not replace an ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court.

"We welcome this initiative of the Quad Comm and Congress to hold perpetrators accountable, and this should in no way conflict with or substitute for the ICC investigation," Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares, a former party-list representative, said.

"Both processes can and should proceed simultaneously to ensure comprehensive justice for the victims and their families," he said.

The Marcos Jr. administration has maintained that it will not cooperate with the ICC, which has been investigating possible crimes against humanity committed during the drug war, because the Philippines has not been part of the court since 2019.

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It has also said, however, that it will not stop the ICC from conducting its probe. 

The Palace has also said the ICC could ask Interpol to intervene, in which case, "the government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored."