LAWMAKERS will try to determine the source of the millions of funds that former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma sent to her ex-husband, Col. Roland Vilela, while he was serving as a police attaché at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California between 2020 and 2022.
The House quad committee would likewise investigate if Garma misused diplomatic channels to send the money to Vilela.
These are among the questions that the joint committee aims to answer when it resumes its hearings on the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that occurred in relation to the implementation of the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs.
During the committee’s September 27 hearing, new details emerged about Garma’s alleged misuse of diplomatic channels to send millions of pesos to Vilela.
Quad committee overall chairperson Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has earlier said it was puzzling how Garma, a retired police colonel who is known to be close to former President Rodrigo Duterte, sent millions of pesos, converted to dollars, to her ex-husband in the United States using the PNP’s diplomatic pouch system.
The revelations suggest a possible misuse of government resources, specifically the PNP’s diplomatic pouches intended for official communications and attaché salaries, with PNP officials admitting that such channels may have been exploited for personal financial gain.
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop’s questioning of former and current PNP officials, including then chief of the Directorate for Intelligence and later PNP chief Benjamin Acorda Jr., revealed the possibility that the PNP’s diplomatic pouch system was used to funnel “personal” funds to Garma’s ex-husband.
Acorda told the quad committee that police attaché salaries and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) were regularly sent through the channels, “especially if there are some special occasions or visits and additional expenses that are incurred by our police attachés.”
When asked by Acop if the payment channels could be used for personal transfers, Acorda hesitantly responded, “Yes, Your Honor, to my understanding.”
Vilela has told the joint panels that he received his P120,000 monthly salary in the Philippines, in addition to the $8,000 he earned as a police attaché through the system.
Police Captain Delfinito Anuba, Vilela’s errand man who was responsible for converting pesos into dollars and sending them to Vilela in the United States, confirmed that Vilela instructed him to convert large sums into US dollars and send them via diplomatic channels.
When asked if he had converted pesos to dollars, Anuba confirmed, “Yes, Sir,” and detailed the process, narrating that he collected the funds from Garma’s security team, specifically Sergeant Enecito Ubales Jr., who is a first cousin of Garma.
Anuba revealed that he converted P30 million and P20 million into dollars on two occasions but admitted changing smaller amounts more frequently.
The panel has cited Ubales in contempt and ordered that he be detained at the Quezon City Jail after he denied his involvement.
“Mas paniniwalaan ko ito. Sinungaling ka rin, e (I’d believe Anuba more. You’re also a liar),” Acop told Ubales.
The panel has been investigating Garma, who is allegedly linked to the Davao Death Squad (DDS), for her ties to the former president, especially since she worked closely with him during his time as Davao City mayor, particularly when she was with the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) where she played a key role in anti-illegal drug operations.
Lawmakers have also learned that Duterte’s long-time aide, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, facilitated Garma’s application for the PCSO post in 2019 which she held until 2022.
Last week, Barbers urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to immediately file murder charges against Garma and Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) for the 2020 killing of retired police Gen. Wesley Barayuga, then a PCSO board secretary.
At least four witnesses have also accused Garma of relaying Duterte’s alleged orders to kill three suspected Chinese drug lords at a Davao prison in 2016 during the early years of Duterte’s drug war.
