PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has ordered a thorough investigation of the supposed quota and reward systems during the police force’s campaign against illegal drugs under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“We take these allegations with utmost gravity,” Marbil said in a statement yesterday, referring to the recent allegations of police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, a poster boy of the previous administration’s war on drugs.
During a House hearing last week, Espenido bared the implementation of the quota and reward system under “Oplan Double Barrel,” the PNP’s campaign plan against illegal drugs, during the Duterte administration.
Espenido claimed a quota of 50 to 100 drug kills per day was imposed by the PNP leadership in the war against illegal drugs and that police units were given monetary rewards if they accomplished their job.
Marbil said a review panel, led by the office of the PNP deputy chief for operations, has been tasked to “thoroughly assess and evaluate Oplan Double Barrel, including Lt. Col. Espenido’s disclosures.”
“Our objective is to address any concerns, ensuring that the PNP’s anti-drug operations are conducted in a manner that upholds the rule of law and respects human dignity,” said Marbil, adding: “We are committed to a drug-free Philippines, but it must be achieved through methods that are just and humane.”
The PNP Public Information Office, in a statement, said the review panel’s mandate includes “a detailed scrutiny and examination of all facets of the anti-drug campaign, particularly those related to human rights, operational protocols, and accountability mechanisms that were previously in place.”
It said the PNP chief has stressed the importance of this review to ensure that “past operations adhered to legal standards and ethical guidelines.”
It said the result of the review “will be crucial in shaping the PNP’s future strategies in the fight against illegal drugs, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights.”
HOUSE PROBE
The lead chair of the four House committees investigating the Duterte government’s bloody war on drugs warned former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, a retired police lieutenant colonel, that the joint panel will order her arrest if she continues to snub the panel’s summons.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, lead chair of the quad committee, said a subpoena has already been issued to Garma, who is on the verge of being cited in contempt and ordered detained if she will not attend the hearing on Tuesday.
“If Lt. Col. Garma refuses to attend, we will have no choice but to issue a warrant for her arrest. This is a matter of national importance, and we will not tolerate any obstruction to this investigation,” Barbers said. “We are committed to ensuring that justice is served, and that means everyone involved must be held to account.”
Additionally, Barbers said the committee is prepared to seek a court order to enforce the subpoena, ensuring that the investigation proceeds without further delay.
“Refusing to testify would be a serious act of defiance against the rule of law and could be seen as an attempt to hide the truth. We have the authority and the resolve to compel her testimony, and we are prepared to use all legal means necessary to ensure her compliance,” he said.
The quad comm has been looking into cases of extrajudicial killings, the unabated proliferation of illegal drugs and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) during the Duterte administration.
Testimonies presented to the committee have implicated Garma in the extrajudicial killings of three Chinese nationals – Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Li, and Wong – who were serving sentences for drug-related offenses at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF).
Self-confessed hitmen Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando Magdadaro earlier claimed that Duterte allegedly issued kill orders for the three convicted Chinese drug lords, who were detained inside the maximum-security facility of the DPPF, in 2016.
Tan and Magdadaro earlier told the joint panel that back when they were still detained at the DPPF in 2016, police officials asked them to kill the three Chinese drug convicts who were also detained in the facility in exchange for P1 million and their freedom.
The two inmates implicated several police officials, including SPO4 Arturo “Art” Narsolis, Garma and then DPPF warden Supt. Gerardo Padilla, who was cited in contempt by the panel last week and ordered detained for being evasive.
Witnesses alleged that Garma, leveraging her position in the CIDG, was instrumental in planning and overseeing the targeted killings, which were carried out under the pretense of the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Padilla insisted during the hearing last week that he was unaware of the order to transfer the Chinese nationals to the same solitary confinement cell where Tan and fellow hitman Fernando Magdadaro were placed to carry out the prison hit.
Barbers said the Quad Committee, composed of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, the Committee on Public Order and Safety, the Committee on Human Rights, and the Committee on Public Accounts, has uncovered significant evidence suggesting that Garma may have played a critical role in orchestrating unlawful operations during her tenure with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Davao.
“These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of abuse that we believe Garma had a direct hand in. The gravity of these allegations cannot be overstated,” Barbers said. “We need her (Garma’s) testimony to understand fully how these operations were conducted and to hold accountable all those involved.”
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel has said there is a disturbing pattern in the killings, noting that 32 Chinese nationals detained for drug offenses were killed: three at the DPPF and 29 in various detention centers.
Pimentel has requested a comprehensive list from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) of Chinese nationals who died while in detention for drug-related charges in 2016 and 2017. — With Wendell Vigilia
