JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royima Garma is in Malaysia to meet with officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in preparation for her possible testimony against former president Rodrigo Duterte who is facing crimes against humanity charges before the tribunal.
Remulla made the remarks a few hours after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that Garma left for Malaysia on Sunday night, a day after she returned to the country following the United States’ rejection of her application for asylum.
Garma, who is a retired police colonel, has testified before the House quad committee that a cash “reward” scheme was implemented during the Duterte administration for drug war killings made by police officers.
Duterte has denied the reward system, but admitted “encouraging” policemen to provoke drug suspects to fight back to justify their killing.
Remulla said immigration authorities did not stop Garma from flying to Malaysia because there is no hold departure order issued against her.
“She’s just a subject of an ILBO (Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order). Given that and the fact that she’s going to Malaysia to meet with the ICC, it gave us a reason to say ‘okay’ because if she’s going to be a witness to the ICC, we have said that our working relationship with the ICC involves witness protection. And the best way to protect her is to really for the ICC to meet her abroad because her life can be in danger in our country. Let’s face it, uniformed personnel ang kalaban (she’s up against those who are uniformed personnel),” he told reporters.
“So as we speak, she’s with them right now, with the ICC people in Malaysia,” he added.
Asked about the reason for Garma’s return last Saturday following her detention at a facility of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Louisiana, Remulla said: “Denial of asylum. Once your asylum is denied and you have a cancelled visa then you have no more reason to stay in the country.”
The BI said Garma left as a tourist for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
“She boarded the flight that left at around 10:43 PM,” it said.
Garma is the subject of an ILBO dated November 15, 2024 for being a person of interest in a case in 2020 and another in 2016.
She has been tagged as the alleged mastermind in the 2020 killing of former PCSO board secretary and retired police general Wesley Barayuga.
TRILLANES’ ROLE
Remulla said he has been discussing with former senator Antonio Trillanes IV the possibility of Garma appearing as a prosecution witness in the ICC case against Duterte, saying that it was the former senator who acted as a “go-between” the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the ICC.
Trillanes and the Magdalo group were the first to file a complaint against the former president before the ICC.
Remulla said the ICC prosecution supposedly sought Trillanes’ help in convincing Garma to testify.
“Sen. Trillanes is the one who is really working with the ICC. And I tip my hat off to him. He’s a very persistent person and we can only admire him for his persistence,” he said, adding that the former PCSO general manager has supposedly already agreed to testify against her former boss.
“I think she has agreed to be a witness, according to (former) senator Trillanes,” he said, hinting on the possibility that Garma might appear at the September 23 confirmation hearing on the charges against Duterte before the ICC.
“That’s what I think that’s why the ICC is running after her, for the confirmation of charges that she might be among the list of witnesses presented and they’re prepping her for that already,” he said.
He said that as far as he knows, Garma is one of three or four witnesses that the ICC is planning to present against Duterte.
“She was in the list, I know. But I don’t know the others. I act on a need-to-know basis. I do not want to interfere with their prosecution plan. It’s not in our office’s mandate to do so because we have turned it over to the jurisdiction of another international tribunal that has already investigated the case in accordance with Section 7 of RA 9851,” Remulla said.
Remulla said DOJ is safekeeping four other prosecution witnesses.
“So far, ang lumapit lang sa amin ang mga testigo for protection, maybe mga apat na testigo pa lang so far (Four witnesses have approached us and sought protection),” he added.
“I’ve been working with Trillanes because we have no real official relationship with the ICC, except for that fact that we protect the witnesses who are here who may be the subject of an ICC request,” the DOJ secretary said.
“Because we have to protect our witnesses and these people are the complainants from here, the witnesses are from here, so it’s just right that the DOJ protects the citizens who may be inclined to testify. That is the reason why on her leaving yesterday, I just asked outgoing director Jimmy Santiago to make sure that she was doing the right thing. That she will be doing what she said she will be doing, which is to testify and to meet with the ICC,” he also said.
GARMA’S WORTH
Remulla said Garma’s testimony is important to the case against the 80-year old former president, noting her insider knowledge of the workings of the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
“I think she’s the highest ranking police officer that can be asked to give a narrative about the drug war, the reward system and the other parts of her testimony which she already gave before in the QuadComm,” he said, referring to Garma’s testimony last year before the House of Representatives.
In her testimony to the Quad Comm, Garma confirmed the existence of death squads which supposedly killed personalities allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade.
She also testified to the existence of a reward system for the drug war of the previous administration.
Remulla also disclosed that Garma’s return to Manila was part of the ICC plan.
“Yes, she had to go home first because that’s what the US authorities did. That’s really the way. If you’re deported, you’re deported to your country of origin. But all the while, negotiations had been going on with senator Trillanes and the ICC between Garma and them. We were not part of that negotiation but we were made aware of that,” he said.
Remulla said he did not have a chance to talk with Garma when she returned last Saturday and prior to her flight to Malaysia.
BARAYUGA CASE
As to the murder case filed against Garma on her alleged role in the 2020 killing of Barayuga, Remulla said the case will continue and the DOJ will not let it to be “undone.”
“Technically, if you look at the Whistleblower Act, she’s already under our protection na. So we will have to evaluate everything again. But we will not let the Barayuga case go undone, we will still run after it and we will see how this will play out,” he explained in mixed Filipino and English.
Remulla stressed the importance of Garma’s testimony in the ICC.
“Because the testimony in the ICC is very important. The Wesley Barayuga case is equally important, it cannot go unnoticed and unserved. So we will cross the bridge when we get there. She will be testifying here also. She has a commitment to testify,” he said.
During the hearings of the QuadComm, police officer Santie Mendoza pointed to Garma and former Napolcom commissioner Edilberto Leonardo as the alleged masterminds in the killing of Barayuga.
Garma and Leonardo have denied their involvement or knowledge in the killing.
