PNP chief seeks probe; HR groups want arrest

MANILA, Philippines —  The country’s top cop has ordered a probe on the bombshell testimony of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma that former president Rodrigo Duterte implemented a cash reward system to policemen for the state-sponsored killing of drug suspects.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil issued the directive yesterday in response to Garma’s revelation before the House of Representatives quad committee hearing.

“We will investigate,” Marbil said in a message on Viber. However, he did not say which units he would assign to undertake the probe.

Garma, a former police official assigned to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), revealed that Duterte talked to her about implementing his war on drugs in Davao City on a national scale.

The cash incentive for every drug suspect killed ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, Garma said.

The former police official herself is under investigation for the murder of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in July 2020.

Barayuga, a retired police general, was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding assailant in Mandaluyong City.

PNP public information officer Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the CIDG is completing the documentation of the case which went cold for several years.

Fajardo said the personalities who were mentioned during the quad comm hearing as being involved in Barayuga’s killing, including Garma, could face murder charges.

‘ICC should arrest Duterte’

Progressive groups urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant of arrest against Duterte after Garma’s statement in the quad comm hearing.

Rights group Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the revelations of Garma bolster what they have known all along as they believe Duterte had a direct role in the mass murder of drug suspects in his administration using the PNP as his own “death squad.”

Palabay said Garma’s account also affirms the assertion that the Duterte administration offered cash incentives to the police to undertake state-sanctioned killings in the anti-drug campaign, which mostly targeted people from poor communities.

Garma’s testimony, together with the statements of the families that became victims of the drug war, is a strong basis for the ICC to immediately order Duterte’s arrest for crimes against humanity, according to Palabay.

The previous administration said over 6,000 drug suspects were killed in alleged shootouts with law enforcement authorities. However, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the figure could be as high as 30,000.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas affirmed Karapatan’s stand, saying that Garma’s admission is damning evidence that is sufficient for Duterte to be prosecuted.

Indigenous groups alliance KATRIBU also called for the indictment and arrest of Duterte.

“Rodrigo Duterte should be locked up in jail, not running for public office,” KATRIBU national convenor Beverly Longid said. — Elizabeth Marcelo