Duterte ally eyes Senate inquiry for ‘balance’
MALACAÑANG supports plans of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to reinvestigate alleged extrajudicial killings carried out in connection with the implementation of the campaign against illegal drugs during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, in a message to members of the media, said “of course” when asked if the Palace is agreeable to the PNP plan to reopen investigations into high profile killings related to the war on drugs.
“The reopening of the investigations of the high (profile) killings related to the war on drugs should indicate that the Marcos administration places the highest importance on the fair dispensation of justice and on the universal observance of the rule of law in the country,” Bersamin said.
Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil has said that the PNP is just waiting for the official report of the quad committee of the House of Representatives, which is investigating links between the alleged extrajudicial killings, the drug war, and the proliferation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs during the Duterte administration.
Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royima Garma has told the quad committee about a supposed reward system that incentivized the elimination of drug suspects, which she said led to a spike in EJK cases during the Duterte administration.
Committee witnesses have also tagged Garma and resigned National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to the killing of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2020. Barayuga’s name was included in the government’s drug list after his death.
It has also been alleged during the joint panel’s hearing that Duterte supposedly ordered the killing of three Chinese drug lords detained at the Davao Penal and Prison Farm (DPPF) in 2016, and the assassination of former Tanauan, Batangas mayor Antonio Halili in 2018.
Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and lawyer Salvador Panelo have denied Duterte’s alleged involvement in the said deaths and the implementation of a reward system for drug war killlings.
SENATE PROBE
On the pretext of check and balance, Dela Rosa said he will conduct a motu propio investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa is the chairperson of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs in the Senate.
In a phone interview with the Senate media, Dela Rosa said the panel can start with the investigation anytime while Congress is still on break until November 3 before senators become busy with the deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget.
“So, if possible, now, during the break gagawin natin ‘yan… Motu proprio muna habang hindi pa nare-refer sa akin ‘yung resolution ni Sen. Bong Go (If possible, we will conduct the hearing now while Congress is still on break… It will be a motu proprio investigation while the resolution [to be filed] by Sen. Bong Go is not yet referred to my committee),” he said.
He, however, said the Senate leadership will still decide on which committee Go’s resolution will be referred to, but if it is given to his committee, “I will do it.”
Dela Rosa said he will invite the former president as a resource person. “Ipapatawag natin pati na kung sino pa na Cabinet member niya noon na puwede maging resource person (We will invite him [Duterte] and his Cabinet members who can be resource persons),” he said.
He said, though, that he has not yet discuss his plans with Duterte, but said he is confident that the former president will attend the hearing “kasi mas komportable siya dito sa Senado kaysa sa lower house (because he is more comfortable in the Senate than in the lower house).”
“I don’t think na hindi siya a-attend kung ako ang mag-iimbita (I don’t think that he will snub the hearing if I will be the one who will invite him),” he said.
Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he supports the plan of Dela Rosa to invite Duterte in the motu proprio investigation.
“To ensure justice and transparency, it is essential to include former President Duterte in the planned investigation of the war on drugs. The testimony of the former president on the issue is crucial in uncovering the truth and ensuring that justice is served for all affected parties,” Estrada said in a statement.
He said there were instances that past presidents have been invited to attend Senate hearings.
“And in these proceedings, the Senate has demonstrated a high level of respect towards former presidents, including my father (former President Joseph Estrada), while pursuing crucial information,” he added.
He said that it is important that those accused of wrongdoings in the past administration’s bloody war on drugs be heard to shed light on the issues.
Dela Rosa said he will also include in his panel’s investigation the allegation of former Bureau of Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban that Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte, lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte; and Michael Yang, Duterte’s former economic adviser, were the real “owners” of the P11-billion worth of illegal drugs smuggled into the country concealed in magnetic steel lifters in 2018.
Guban is serving life at the New Bilibid Prison for drug smuggling. He disclosed the alleged information on Rep. Duterte, Carpio, and Yang during a recent hearing at the House of Representatives.
Dela Rosa said he will conduct the hearing to “counter” the alleged baseless testimonies against the past administration peddled in the House quad committee hearings, even as he denied that the hearing will be “self-serving” since his name has been mentioned in the House hearings.
“Kung gusto ko lang gamitin ang committee ko, eh di matagal na ako nag-hearing diyan. Kaso lang nahihiya rin ako baka sabihin ng tao na self-serving ang ginagawa ko, gusto ko lang i-clear ang pangalan kaya ako nag-hearing. May delicadeza rin tayo per kailangan na talaga i-maintain ang check and balances. We have to do it (I could have investigated this at an earlier time if I really just want to use my committee. But I don’t want the people to think that it is self-serving, that I just want to conduct the hearing to clear my name. I have a sense of propriety, but we really have to maintain checks and balances. We have to do it),” Dela Rosa said.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, one of the chairmen of the quad committee, laughed off Dela Rosa’s plan to call for a separate drug war hearing, saying the senator, who implemented the bloody drug war as PNP chief during the first few years of the Duterte administration, “would be more biased than actually balanced in that hearing.”
Abante, who chairs the House Committee on Human Rights, questioned Dela Rosa’s impartiality given his involvement in the controversial anti-drug campaign and close relationship with the former president, which, he said, could only compromise the integrity of the Senate investigation.
He cited as a major issue Dela Rosa’s promotion from brigadier general to Director General of the PNP during Duterte’s presidency.
However, despite his concerns, Abante welcomed the Senate’s investigation. “In fact, sabi ng Bible (the Bible says), two is better than one. E ‘di partner na kami ng Senado (So, we’re partners with the Senate) when it comes to investigation,” he told reporters.
Abante said it is up to the former president if he wants to participate in the Senate hearing instead of the House’s. “Hopefully, he will come and say what he would like to say,” he said.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said there were rumors about the reward system for slain drug suspects in the anti-drug crackdown of the previous administration, but no witnesses were able to confirm it.
Guevarra was the secretary of the Department of Justice from 2018 until 2022.
“There were only loose talks then in the media about quotas and rewards, but no one actually came forward to give any formal statement about it,” Guevarra said in a Viber message.
“When the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation started investigating the so-called “nanlaban” cases endorsed by the Philippine National Police, there was no mention of any reward or bounty ever made in relation to the war on drugs,” he added.
Though no witnesses came out to confirm the rumors on the drug war reward system, Guevarra defended the stance of the DOJ under his watch, saying they initiated a probe on the killing of drug suspects at the height of the campaign against those allegedly involved in the narcotics trade.
But he added the investigation was cut short during the change of the leadership in 2022 from Duterte to Marcos.
“That’s why we’re hoping that the present DOJ would continue it. It’s much easier to build up cases now relating to the war on drugs because witnesses are coming out and testifying before the congressional investigations,” he said.
The DOJ under Guevarra investigated more than 900 complaints against police officers in the context of the drug war but eventually prioritized 52 cases since these had the strongest chances of going to trial.
The 52 cases involved drug suspects killed by police.
EVIDENCE
At the same time, Dela Rosa dared the House quad committee to present the evidence it allegedly has against him in connection with Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
“Ilabas nila ang evidence dahil paano ako maka-counter kung hindi ko alam ang evidence na hawak nila. Hindi ko alam talaga kung anong hawak nilang evidence kasi kung ako ang tatanungin ninyo, I don’t think meron silang evidence against me (They should present the evidence so I can make the necessary rebuttal because I don’t know what their evidence are against me. But if I were to be asked, I don’t think that they have evidence against me),” he said.
Dela Rosa was reacting to statements made by key members of the House quad committee that he and Go were involved in EJKs and the alleged reward system for cops during the previous administration.
Dela Rosa said he is not “bothered” with the alleged evidence against him since as a former PNP chief, “I am not connected in any way” with the EJKs.
“Pero hindi ko namo-monitor mga kapulisan ko 24/7 kung ano ang ginagawa nila lahat. Pero ‘yun lang siguro command responsibility as chief PNP. Pero sabihin mo may direct hand ako kung ano plano… I don’t think so na mali-link nila ako dahil kung papakinggan mo man, never ako binanggot doon sa affidavit ni Garma. You never heard my name mentioned dahil wala man talaga siyang link sa akin (But I did not monitor my men 24/7 on what they’re doing. But maybe, as [a former] PNP chief, [I am liable for] command responsibility. But to say that I have a direct hand to the plants [to kill suspects]… I don’t think they can link me because as you see, I was never mentioned by Garma in her affidavit. You never heard my name mentioned because she cannot link me to anything),” he said.
“My conscience is very clear, I have not done nothing wrong,” he added.
He said he knew nothing about the reward system, but if it were true, it could have been done in a “very secretive manner.”
“Pero ako honestly, kung meron mang ganyan, I was not involved. Pero kung tanungin mo ako kung existing yan, hindi ko rin masabi na existing yan dahil wala man talaga, not to my knowledge (But honestly, if that [reward system] existed, I was not involved. If you ask me if that existed, I really cannot tell if it did exist because there was none, not to my knowledge),” he said.
Dela Rosa said Go was “really handing money” to policemen since it was on orders of Duterte, but they were not meant to reward cops but as “allowance” for the police’s operational expenses.
“Namimigay naman talaga ng pera si Bong Go. Inuutusan yan ni Presidente Duterte noon pa, sa Davao pa kami kapag nag command conference mga station commander. Pagkatapos namin mag-conference, binibigyan kami ng konting allowance, konting operational expenses. Every conference yan may pinamimigay yan (Bong Go really gave away money because he was ordered by President Duterte. That was done when we were still in Davao when we have a command conference with the station commanders. We were given money after a command conference for allowance and operational expenses. That was given every after [command] conference),” Dela Rosa said.
He said the same was also done when he was PNP chief as the former president also gave away money to police regional directors after a command conference to cover for their travel expenses.
“Meron nagbibigay ng allowance, pero kung sasabihin mo na reward system talaga, reward kung may mapatay ka…hindi ko kayang i-implement yan o di ako bilib sa system na yan. Wala akong perang magagamit para diyan dahil alam ko trabaho ng pulis yan na linisin ang droga sa kanyang area, hindi na kailangan ng reward reward na yan. Mag-trabaho kayo, mandato niyo yan, trabaho niyo yan (Allowances were given, but if you will say that they were meant as a reward if you killed someone…I cannot implement that. I don’t believe in that system. We don’t have funds for that…[because] that it is the mandate of policemen to rid their areas of concern of illegal drugs),” he also said.
He said Garma could have been forced to implicate them since her involvement in the killing of Barayuga has been established.
Dela Rosa also said he believes that Garma’s affidavit was done by someone else but did not elaborate.
ICC DRUG PROBE
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, overall chair of the House quad committee, said they will not their findings on the drug war-related EJKs to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in support of the decision of President Marcos Jr. not to rejoin the international body.
“Our stand, my personal stand on this issue, is since we are not members of the ICC and the President has made his statement as to his position with the ICC, I will support that decision,” Barbers told a news forum in Manila.
Barbers said the House will not provide documents or even transcripts of the quad committee’s EJK hearings to the ICC “because we are not members of ICC and we are following the statement of the President.”
However, he said the ICC can still access the quad comm’s recorded hearings on the official social media pages of the House of Representatives.
Barbers also said the four committees are also eyeing stiffer penalties for perjury to protect the committee from witnesses who will lie out of convenience, instead of telling the truth.
Dela Rosa said the Barbers’ statement that the quad committee will not send their evidence to the ICC is a “convenient excuse” since it will post them in social media sites, thus it will serve the same purpose of reaching the ICC.
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the ICC can make use of the televised testimonies of the quad committee hearings as evidence in its ongoing probe.
But Carpio said the transcripts and video of the hearings should be officially submitted to the ICC so it may be included in the case build-up by the ICC prosecutor on the crimes against humanity filed against Duterte and his officials.
“Since televised naman ‘yung QuadComm –televised presentations, televised proceedings can be submitted,” Carpio told reporters after he and several others filed a case before the SC questioning the legality of the transfer of the unused funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to the National Treasury.
Carpio said among those that can be submitted to the ICC are the statements made by Duterte ordering the killing of drug suspects.
“For example, President Duterte before was interviewed and he said, ‘Ako ang nag-order niyan.’ That’s an extrajudicial confession, that admission is admissible,” he said.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the quad committee hearings is a sufficient reason for the ICC to stop its probe into the Duterte administration’s drug war.
‘MATTER OF TIME’
Abante said it’s only a matter of time before Leonardo also reveals the truth in the ongoing House probe.
He said Leonardo will testify once he submits his affidavit to the quad committee and the panel is just waiting for the decision of the former police colonel, who, according to Garma, was among the officials tasked by Duterte to implement the drug war, including the reward system for those who killed drug suspects.
“Until such time that Col. Leonardo would submit to us an affidavit, doon namin siya isasalang (then that’s the only time we’ll ask him to testify),” Abante said, adding that he expects Leonardo’s statements to be as impactful as Garma’s.
The quad committee’s next hearing is scheduled for October 22.
Abante and fellow quad committee chair Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez said the joint panel will seek the assistance of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to track the cash flow tied to these operations.
“The quad comm will leave no stone unturned. Those who profited from the killings must be held accountable, and the AMLC is key to tracking down these illicit transactions that led to the deaths of innocent civilians,” Abante said.
Fernandez, for his part, said: “The use of financial institutions for illegal activities is a serious crime (so) we will follow every lead to ensure that those responsible face justice.”
Fernandez, chair of the Committee on Public Order and Safety, called on police officers who may have received cash rewards to come forward. “We are giving those involved a chance to help clear the air and ensure justice is served,” he said.
MONEY TRAIL
Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) raised the issue of potential misuse of intelligence and confidential funds by the former president since the money could have been used to bankroll the killings.
Castro highlighted the substantial allocations to intelligence and confidential funds in Davao during Duterte’s tenure as mayor, which continued under his daughter, now Vice President Sara Duterte, and his son, Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
She noted that Davao City’s intelligence funds in 2011 was P109,500,000; P113,000,000 in 2012; P115,000,000 in 2013; P120,000,000 in 2014 and P144,000,000 in 2015.
“Noong 2016 pa lang sa Davao, P144 million na ang confidential funds nila hanggang umabot na sa P2.697 billion noong 2022. Humirit pa ng illegal na P125M na OVP confidential fund si VP Duterte. Mula 2016 hanggang ngayon nasa mahigit P3 billion na ang nakuha ni VP Duterte na confidential funds pero kahit anong patunay na nagastos ito ng tama ay wala tayo (As early as 1016, Davao already had P144 million in confidential funds until it reached P2.697 billion in 2022. VP Duterte even asked for P125 million confidential fund. Since 2016 until now, VP Duterte has received more than P3 billion, but we don’t have single proof if she used it correctly),” Castro said.
Castro also noted that the confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the President (OP) in 2016 were P500,000,000; P2,500,000,000 in 2017; P2,500,000,000 in 2018; P2,500,000,000 in 2019; P4,500,000,000 in 2020; P4,500,000,000 in 2021 and P4,500,000,000 in 2022.
“It was during this time when thousands have been killed under the fake drug war and hundreds more were killed who were critics of the Duterte administration,” she said.
She observed that during the first two years of the Duterte administration, the confidential and intelligence funds were around P2.5 billion, but when the administration intensified its attacks on critics, the funds jumped to P4.5 billion. — With Wendell Vigilia and Ashzel Hachero
