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Garma says Duterte tapped 'Davao Model' on killing drug suspects

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Carmelle Lacuata

Jeffrey Hernaez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://news-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com/api/upload-raw/20241011141044/cc3a88e15955b6e9fb807ee8dad14b494c2355be6ba766a482cf166b085415d4.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="Former President Rodrigo Duterte andformer police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) officer Royina Garma. ABS-CBN News/file" style="width:960px"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former President Rodrigo Duterte and former police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) officer Royina Garma. <em>ABS-CBN News/file</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA<strong> (4th UPDATE) </strong>- Former police colonel Royina Garma admitted during the House Quad Committee hearing on Friday that her involvement in the war on drugs began with an early morning phone call from then-President Rodrigo Duterte.</p><p>“Throughout the hearings, I answered questions from the committee based on my personal knowledge; however, I did so with great apprehension, as I recognized that my statements on national television could significantly endanger my life, the safety of my family, and others close to me,” Garma said, reading an affidavit she prepared for the quadcomm.</p><p>“After considerable reflection, I am now executing this affidavit to provide comprehensive information to the Quad Com regarding everything I personally know about the war on drugs during the former administration,” she added.</p><p>According to Garma, she received a call from Duterte at 5:00 a.m, in May 2016.</p><p>Duterte allegedly asked her to meet him at his residence in Doña Luisa, Davao, and instructed her to find a police officer who was a member of Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC).</p><p>Garma said Duterte wanted someone “capable of implementing the war on drugs on a national scale, replicating the Davao model.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/police-officer-confirms-quota-reward-system-during-duterte-drug-war-1253">• Police officer confirms &#x27;quota, reward system&#x27; during Duterte drug war<br/></a></div><p>“The Davao Model involves three levels of payments or rewards. First is the reward if the suspect is killed. Second is the funding of planned operations (COPLANS). Third is the refund of operational expenses,” Garma said in her affidavit.</p><p>Initially, Garma told Duterte that she did not know anyone who fit the qualifications, as she had not been assigned outside of Davao City.</p><p>However, she later remembered National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, a member of INC, and mentioned his name to Duterte.</p><p>“On the same day, a certain individual named &quot;Muking&quot; contacted me by phone to request Leonardo&#x27;s contact details, which I promptly provided,” she said.</p><p>According to Garma, Leonardo was later summoned by Duterte to Davao, where he was tasked with organizing a force “similar to the PAOCTF”.</p><p>Police Master Sergeant Arthur Narsolis, who was implicated in the killing of three Chinese nationals at the Davao Penal and Prison Farm, informed her of this.</p><p>Leonardo also asked Garma to join the task force, but she declined, “I declined, citing my lack of experience in handling such operations.”</p><div><strong>THE WAR ON DRUG BEGINS</strong></div><p>In her affidavit, Garma mentioned that Leonardo routed a proposal for the task force’s operations through then-presidential aide, now Sen. Christopher &quot;Bong&quot; Go.</p><p>Leonardo also requested her to facilitate a courtesy call with Duterte through Go.</p><p>“Considering this, I thought it prudent to invite my classmates Baccay, Vilela, Grijaldo, Tuzon, and Duenas to join the courtesy call,” Garma said.</p><p>“The members of Class &#x27;97 PNPA and Class &#x27;96 PNPA were accommodated in separate rooms at the DPWH office in Panacan, Davao. The President did not entered our room, and I was unaware if he visited the room of Class 97… After the courtesy call, Leonardo informed me that the structure of the intended task force would undergo changes,” added Garma.</p><p>Garma also mentioned in her affidavit that Leonardo was eventually transferred to Manila as chief of the CIDG Region 11.</p><p>In a statement on Saturday, Go called Garma&#x27;s testimony &quot;diversionary tactics to muddle the true issue she is facing – her participation in an alleged murder plot.&quot;</p><p>Go was referring to the 2019 killing of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, also a former cop official, that Garma has been implicated in.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/29/pnp-chief-marbil-orders-reopening-of-barayuga-murder-case-1559">• PNP Chief Marbil orders reopening of Barayuga murder case<br/></a></div><p>Go called Garma&#x27;s statements &quot;malicious and unsubstantiated&quot; as he called on the Senate to launch its own investigation into the allegations against him and fellow Partido Demokratiko Pilipino senator Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa, who was PNP chief from 2016 to 2018.</p><div><strong>THE TEAM</strong></div><p>The former cop also claimed that Leonardo told her that Lester Bergamo, Rommel Bactat, Rodel Cerbo, Michael Palma, and Peter Parungo were recalled to be part of the task force.</p><p>“Rommel Bactat, Rodel Cerbo, and Michael Palma were all former police officers stationed at the CIDG 11 Office. They were discharged from Service on or about a year ago due to an operation that led to the killing of one individual. Lester Berganio is a provide (private) citizen, while Peter Parungo was a former detainee in CIDG due to a charge of rape that has since been cleared,” said Garma.</p><p>Garma also claimed that Bactat, Cerbo, Palma, and Parungo were the ones who were tasked to collect and verify information from police officers while Berganio encoded and compiled the list.</p><p>“The compilation is thereafter elevated to Leonardo who will decide what level the arrest and/or killing was and its corresponding reward. Rewards were only given for killings, while for arrests, only the funding of the COPLAN and a refund for the expenses was given,” Garma claimed.</p><p>“I saw how these individuals operated when I would visit the CIDG Office in Region 11 to see my friend Lotlot,” she added.</p><div><strong>REWARD SYSTEM</strong></div><p>Garma also claimed that funds were allocated by the government for all operational expenses related to the drug war.</p><p>“Once the task force became operational, I later learned that all COPLAN funds,refunds for operational expenses, and rewards for agents were processed through the bank accounts of Peter Parungo at Metrobank, BDO, and PS Bank. Concurrently, Lester Berganio maintained a comprehensive list of drug personalities in the Philippines,” she said.</p><p>“In case po nagkaroon ng operation and subsequently nagkaroon ng death on the part of the suspects during a legitimate operation, mayroon din corresponding amount po na binibigay. That is how it works,” Garma said during the quad com hearing.</p><p>Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel asked Garma about the amount given to police officers for each drug personality killed during Duterte&#x27;s war on drugs.</p><p>“May nakuha kasi tayong impormasyon, although noong nakaraan ay parang haka haka lang siya, pero ngayon na nagho-hold tayo ng investigation, nakakuha tayo ng sources na pagdating sa reward system ay kapag ang napatay ay isang pusher, iyon ang tinatawag na level 1 tapos P50,000 ang reward,” Manuel said.</p><p>“I am not so familiar po sa specific amount but true, there is an amount po per level,” Garma replied.</p><p>Manuel also mentioned that based on his sources, the drug war had four levels of rewards: P50,000 for a drug pusher, P100,000 for a big-time pusher, P300,000 to P500,000 for narco cops or politicians, and P1,000,000 for traders, manufacturers, chemists, or financiers.</p><p>“May amount po from what I understand starting from P20,000 to P1,000,000 but I am not familiar sa bracketing,” Garma stated.</p><p>Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police in the early years of the Duterte administration&#x27;s so-called war on drugs, said he knows nothing about a reward system for cops involved in anti-narcotics operations.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/12/bato-says-he-has-no-idea-about-reward-system-for-cops-in-drug-war-1032">• Bato says he has &#x27;no idea&#x27; about alleged reward system for cops in drug war</a></div><p>&quot;I have no idea about that reward system,&quot; Dela Rosa told ABS-CBN News on Saturday.</p><p>&quot;During my time as the Chief, PNP, I did not engage in a reward system because I had no funds for that,&quot; Dela Rosa, a former Davao City police chief, also said.</p><p>He said that, during his tenure, &quot;the only reward system in the PNP is the [Department of the Interior and Local Governemnt]-approved list of most wanted persons.&quot;</p><div><strong>LEONARDO DECIDES, REPORTS TO GO</strong></div><p>Garma also disclosed that Leonardo had the final authority to decide who would be listed as a drug personality and the threat level, as well as the discretion to remove names from the list.</p><p>He would report deaths during operations to Go, Garma said.</p><p>“Leonardo had the final authority to determine who would be included on the list of drug personalities and to classify their threat levels, as well as the discretion to remove individuals from the list,” Garma said.</p><p>“Furthermore, in 2016, while I was at the CIDG office following up on personnel appointments, I overheard Padilla discussing drug activities at the Davao Penal Colony with Leonardo. Padilla specifically identified certain BUCOR officers involved in the drug trade, notably mentioning an officer named &quot;Guinto, &quot; who was subsequently killed along with other Bucor members,” Garma mentioned in her affidavit.</p><div><strong>GARMA SAYS SORRY TO EJK VICTIMS</strong></div><p>Families of victims of extrajudicial killings also attended the quad committee hearing and shared their stories with lawmakers.</p><p>Among them was Raquel Lopez, the mother of Rabby Lopez, who was killed during a police operation in Cebu City in 2018.</p><p>Lopez claimed that Garma went to her son’s wake and angrily asked why there was only one dead, as many had been killed in the area—a statement Garma later denied.</p><p>“Yes, it is true. I am the city director, but all the station commanders were tasked to implement the war on drugs. Mayroon mga station commander in charge,” Garma said.</p><p>“I am very sorry on behalf of my men na nagkamali sa inyo, I’m very sorry, but I cannot control all of them. Lahat sila trained police officers, alam nila ang rules of engagement. Alam mo, once you are in the ground, you will always use your discretion, instinct yan ng tao… inaamin ko, may nagkakamali… I am sorry to all victims kung hindi ko naimbestigahan isa-isa ang cases niyo,” Garma added.</p><p>Garma was being investigated for her role in Duterte&#x27;s brutal drug war when she was still with the Philippine National Police.</p><p>Following her retirement from police service, lawmakers said Garma, who supposedly had &quot;special ties&quot; to Duterte, was appointed to several &quot;juicy&quot; positions.</p><p>She and Leonardo were later tagged in the 2019 murder of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.</p><p>Duterte, Go, and other personalities mentioned in the affidavit have yet to issue statements regarding Garma&#x27;s allegations, as of posting.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/27/-dds-cop-accused-of-bankrolling-own-party-list-using-pcso-funds-1326">Duterte-era cop accused of &#x27;bankrolling&#x27; own party-list using PCSO funds</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/12/-lahat-ng-posisyon-mo-juicy-ex-pcso-chief-grilled-about-special-ties-with-rodrigo-duterte-1835">&#x27;Lahat ng posisyon mo juicy!&#x27; Ex-PCSO chief grilled about &#x27;special&#x27; ties with Rodrigo Duterte</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/29/pnp-chief-marbil-orders-reopening-of-barayuga-murder-case-1559">PNP Chief Marbil orders reopening of Barayuga murder case</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y_0nwQXCqVM?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and former police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) officer Royina Garma has executed an affidavit providing details of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, which followed the “Davao Model”.</p>

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and former police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) officer Royina Garma has executed an affidavit providing details of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, which followed the “Davao Model”.