Drug war "rewards" should be investigated by executive branch — SolGen
Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Royina Garma has been tagged as “mastermind” behind the killing of her a colleague, PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, who was shot dead in July 2020 amid allegations of being involved in the illegal drug trade.
House of Representatives
On Monday, 14 October, Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra said of the House quad committee's recent explosive testimony from Royina Garma, "It would... be better if all pieces of evidence gathered from the congressional committee hearings are turned over to our own executive agencies for appropriate investigation and prosecution."
He further explained, "The quad comm, on its own, may turn it over to the DOJ/NBI (Department of Justice/National Bureau of Investigation) or to the OMB (Office of the Ombudsman) for case build-up or further investigation."
Guevarra emphasized that "these are the agencies that have the mandate to build on the findings of the congressional committees with respect to criminal matters." He added that the Office of the Solicitor General's role would come much later in the process.
During the recent quad committee hearing, Garma alleged that in 2016, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte met with her in Davao City to discuss the nationwide implementation of the "Davao model" in the war against illegal drugs.
The former PCSO official, who had previously served as a police station commander in Davao City, explained that the Davao City model "involves three levels of payments or rewards." She claimed, "First is the reward if the suspect is killed. Second is the funding of planned operations (or COPLANS). Third is the refund of operational expenses," she alleged.