FORMER Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) has corroborated the testimonies of former police Lt. Col. Royina Garma confirming that a rewards system for cops who killed drugs suspects was adopted under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Leonardo, a former police colonel, made the admission past Wednesday midnight during the hearing of the House quad committee on the thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) related to the previous administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, chair of the House Committee on Human Rights, who is one of the joint panel’s chairmen, questioned Leonardo about his knowledge of the veracity of the claims that Garma made in her affidavits.
“I am not going to ask for any more explanation. Col. Leonardo, sagutin niyo lang ako ng yes or no. Doon sa dalawang affidavit ni Col. Garma na nabasa mo at napakinggan mo. ’yan ba ay pinapaniwalaan mo? (Col. Leonardo, just answer with yes or no. In the two affidavits of Col. Garma which you read and you’ve heard, do you believe that?) Yes or no?” Abante asked, to which the usually evasive Leonardo replied: “Yes, Mr. Chair.”
The panel’s chairmen said Leonardo’s statements corroborating Garma’s claims solidly established the existence of a rewards system during Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
“It has been established that actually there’s a reward system. ‘Di na pwedeng itanggi pa ng (It cannot be denied anymore by the) previous administration,” Abante told a joint online press conference yesterday.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the joint panel’s overall chair, said the pieces of the puzzle are all coming into place and “there is nothing more to add because the rewards system has already been established.”
“Ang kanyang pag-amin sa (Leonardo’s admission to the) quad comm will be placed on the records and this record that we will use as basis in writing our committee report, isasama namin (we’ll include it),” Barbers said. “Once pumasok ito sa (Once this reaches) concerned agencies like DOJ (Department of Justice), DOJ should do a more comprehensive, maybe preliminary investigation,” he said.
In her affidavit which she read during the last hearing of the joint panel, Garma, a former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager who was known to be close to Duterte, revealed details about the roles of the former president and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go in overseeing the anti-drug operations.
Garma alleged the creation of a national task force patterned after the “Davao Model,” which supposedly provided police with financial rewards for killing drug suspects, funding for planned operations, and reimbursement for operational expenses.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa was the PNP chief who implemented the drug war during the early years of the administration, while Go was the special assistant to the president then.
Garma has also revealed how she was instructed by Duterte to help find a police officer who could replicate the deadly Davao Model nationwide. She said she recommended Leonardo, who later led the task force.
Abante continued to ask Leonardo: “Naniniwala ka ba na merong rewards system? (Do you believe if there was a rewards system? Yes or no?” to which Leonardo initially responded, “May narinig ako, yes, (I’ve heard about it, yes, Mr. Chair).”
When pressed to answer yes or no, Leonardo said, “Yes, Mr. Chair,” further confirming the statements of Garma, who in a supplemental affidavit, also told the quad committee that the existence of the notorious Davao Death Squad (DDS) was a common knowledge among cops in Davao City.
DAVAO DEATH SQUAD
“I became aware of the so-called ‘Davao Death Squad’ through various sources during my assignment in Davao,” Garma, who remains detained at the House of Representatives after previously being cited in contempt for being evasive, said in the supplemental affidavit.
Garma, who served as a police officer in Davao City since 1997, confirmed the existence of the DDS, a group long suspected of carrying out summary killings in Davao City, where Duterte had served as mayor for many years.
“It was common knowledge among officers that almost all station commanders had special teams designated for specific operations. Although I did not know the identities of these teams, a culture of silence prevailed among police officers in Davao regarding such matters,” she said.
Garma said the “culture of silence” extended to police operations, where killings remained unchecked in the name of law enforcement.
She said the cash rewards for drug-related killings ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the target.
Garma detailed her firsthand observations of the reward system based on her experiences as a station commander of the Sasa and Sta. Ana police stations from 2012 to 2016.
She cited an operation in Barangay Malagamot, Davao City, in 2012, saying she received a call from Police Lt. Col. Padua, an intelligence officer who worked under Dela Rosa, who was then Davao City police chief, informing her of an upcoming operation. Hours later, she learned that a male suspect had been killed.
“From that operation, I received P20,000 from Sgt. Suan provided by Boy Alce,” she stated, referring to an individual who facilitated the distribution of rewards to officers.
Garma also recounted the death of a known male drug user and pusher near GT Gasoline Station in Panacan, Davao: “I remember this person because, in the morning of the day of his death, the duty desk officer informed me that he went to my office and left an image of the Holy Family, to tell my men that he just went to Mass and was very happy,” Garma said. “A few hours later, he was dead.”
Garma said she was told by Suan that the killing had been coordinated by Alce. “There was never any clearance from my office for this operation, nor was my office informed of it,” she said.
She also outlined how police commanders were supposedly required to submit reports on successful operations at the end of each month, including requests for reimbursements for operational expenses, such as buy-bust money and gasoline.
“At the end of each month, all station commanders were required to submit reports documenting successful police operations to the LGU of Davao,” Garma said. “These reports included details of cases filed in the Office of the Prosecutor and other relevant information concerning the operations.”
For each case, Garma said commanders were reimbursed P5,000, which was handled through a liaison known as “Muking.”
“The disbursement of these funds occurred monthly through Irma Espino, a.k.a. ‘Muking,’ and we were required to sign documents acknowledging receipt of payment,” Garma said, referring to Irmina Espino, a staff member in the office of Go when he was a long-time Duterte aide at the Davao city hall.
Espino reportedly continued to work with Go when he became Special Assistant to the President at Malacañang, serving as Assistant Secretary in his office.
Garma stated in her affidavit that the rewards for killings were significantly higher, saying a certain Sonny Buenaventura “provided direct payments of P20,000 to station commanders, with no signed documentation required.”
The quad committee issued a show cause order for seven individuals, including a close aide of Go, to explain why they should not be cited for contempt after failing to attend the hearing despite receiving invitations.
The individuals named are Espino, Peter Parungo, Rommel Bactat, Rodel Cerbo, Michael Palma, Lester Berganio and Sanson Buenaventura, all mentioned by Garma in her affidavit.
HALILI ASSASSINATION
The quad committee also cited in contempt and ordered the detention of Police Capt. Kenneth Paul Alborta, who was implicated in the assassination of former Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili, which was linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lingkod), one of the joint panel’s chairmen, moved to cite Albotra in contempt after he claimed he did not know the motive behind the killing of one subordinate and the relief of another in 2018.
During her testimony, Garma recounted a conversation with Albotra in which he allegedly bragged about his involvement in the assassination of Halili, who was included in Duterte’s “narco-list.”
Halili, known for publicly parading suspected criminals, was shot by a sniper during a flag-raising ceremony in July 2018.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Albotra denied Garma’s assertions, dismissing them as “pure gossip” and even threatened to sue Garma, who maintained that Albotra was the one who had approached her with the information.
“Makukunsensya din po ‘yan kasi (He should feel guilty, too because) I treated him very well when I was the (police) Director of Cebu City,” Garma said. “If he will sue me, I will face it. But I can look straight in his eyes. I am not lying, and he’s lying and cowardly for not mentioning the names he knows were involved in Mayor Halili’s killing. He knows it.”
The joint panel also heard the testimony of Norvin Tamisin, a former councilor who was accused of masterminding the assassination of Los Baños, Laguna Mayor Caesar Perez in December 2020.
Tamisin, who was jailed for seven months following his arrest in November 2021, claimed that police authorities framed him as a “fall guy” to quickly close the case and classify it as solved.
Perez was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen inside the municipal hall compound on December 3, 2020. His name had also been included in Duterte’s controversial drug list.
The quad committee also cited demoted Police Maj. Leo Laraga in contempt for lying after he attempted to evade answering the questions of Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, senior vice chair of the joint panel, regarding the November 2016 raid at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail, which was connected to the alleged murder of Albuera town mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. inside the prison facility.
During the raid, operatives from the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group reportedly killed Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap.
