SUPT. Gerardo Padilla, former warden of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF), has submitted an affidavit to the House quad committee confirming that he received a congratulatory call from former President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte after the murder of three Chinese drug lords by other inmates.
The September 4, 2024 affidavit of Padilla, now head of the Directorate for Reformation of the Bureau of Corrections in the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, corroborated the earlier statement of Leopoldo “Tata” Tan Jr. that Duterte was pleased about the killings.
Tan and fellow prisoner Fernando Magdadaro owned up to doing the hit on the three Chinese who died of multiple stab wounds on the evening of August 13, 2016.
The three victims were Chu Kin Tung, also known as Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping.
Padilla said that before the killings, he received a phone call from Col. Royina Garma who instructed him not to intervene in the contracted murder of the three Chinese.
“Huwag kang makikialam, may mga tao kami diyan sa loob. Alam mo naman na programa ito ni Presidente Durterte sa drug war (Don’t interfere, we have people inside. You know that this part of the drug war of President Duterte),” he quoted Garma as saying.
Shortly after Garma’s call, he was supposedly told by Col. Edilberto Leonardo to report to the Davao CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) office where the three of them met face to face. At that meeting, Padilla said the previous instructions were reiterated that he should not lift a finger when killers take out the three Chinese drug traders.
“Pinapatotohanan ko ang sinabi ni Tata na noong papunta kami sa investigation section ay tumunog ang cellphone ko, at ito ay sinagot ko. Ang tumawag sa akin ay si dating Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte at sinabing, ‘Congrats, Superintendent Padilla, job well done. Pero grabe yung ginawa, ginawang dinuguan’ (I affirm the statement of Tata that when we went to the investigation section, my phone rang and when I answered it, it was President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. He told me, ‘Congrats Superintendent Padilla, job well done. They made them like blood stew),” he said.
Padilla said he told other officers about Duterte’s phone call, although after Tan told the committee that the former warden got cold feet about throwing his support behind it.
Padilla said concern for his safety and that of his family in Davao City were what prompted him to initially deny Duterte’s congratulatory call.
“Napilitan lamang ako sabihin sa aking counter-affidavit dated August 27, 2024 na wala akong natanggap na tawag galing kay dating Presidente Duterte for the security and safety of my family and myself (I was forced to say in my counter-affidavit dated August 27, 2024 that I did not get any calls from former President Duterte for the security and safety of my family and myself),” he also said.
Garma was later appointed as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager after she retired from the PNP.
She is one of the resource persons being asked by the House of Representatives quad panel looking into extra-judicial killings, the drug menace and illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators.
Also at yesterday’s hearing, the House quad committee ordered the detention of Police Master Sergeant Arthur “Art” Narsolis, who was also implicated in the killing of the three Chinese drug lords.
Narsolis was cited in contempt for repeatedly ignoring subpoenas from the panel investigating extrajudicial killings tied to Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.
In their sworn statements, Tan and Magdadaro detailed how they were approached by law enforcement officers linked to the Duterte administration and instructed to carry out the murders.
Tan specifically named Narsolis, who allegedly visited him in July 2016 with a proposition to kill the Chinese inmates, claiming approval from higher-ups and offering a reward of P1 million per target.
Narsolis reportedly referred to the reward as “isang manok kada ulo” (one chicken per head).
Tan said Narsolis instructed him to find a partner, leading him to enlist Magdadaro and both of them were later moved to the same cell as the Chinese targets before carrying out the murders on Aug. 13, 2016.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel tagged Garma as the “director” of the killings of the three Chinese drug lords.
“Si Col. Garma ang nagsilbing ‘director’ ng pagpatay sa tatlong Chinese drug lords noong 2016 (Col. Garma served as the director of the killings of the three Chinese drug lords),” Pimentel said during his interpellation of Garma at Thursday’s hearing.
The witnesses include self-confessed hitmen Tan, Magdadaro, former police sergeant Jimmy Fortaleza, and Padilla.
Appearing before the quad committee for the first time, Garma denied the allegations linking her to the killings of the Chinese nationals.
Garma denied any perceived “closeness” with Duterte, despite being appointed to the PCSO after she left active service at the police force in 2018.
