Source of EJK funds probed: House suspects intel money was used

The House Quad Committee will look into whether the Duterte administration tapped into its intelligence fund to finance the so-called cash reward system that paid policemen up to P1 million for killing drug suspects.

In an interview on Tuesday, Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, a co-chair of the panel, cited retired police colonel Royina Garma’s testimony that some Malacañang officials, including former Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who was then special assistant to former president Rodrigo Duterte, had a hand in the brutal drug war.

“That [need for an investigation] only came out when Royina Garma said the money was coming from Malacañang. If the funds came from Malacañang and this was a police operation, it would have come from the intel fund,” Fernandez told reporters.

Garma told the Quadcom on Friday that Go oversaw Duterte’s war on drugs.

She said that then Police Lt. Col. Edilberto Leonardo would report on all fatalities from the police operations to Go so the latter could include it in his weekly report and request refunds for operational expenses.

Garma said the monetary rewards for drug-related killings ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the prominence of the target.

Go has repeatedly denied involvement in the drug war operations. He dismissed Garma’s allegations as “malicious” and “unsubstantiated.”

Fernandez said the Quadcom is keen on determining whether the previous administration sourced the rewards from its intel fund, given that it was intended for police and military operations.

He noted fluctuations in the use of intelligence funds within specific months.

“We’re pretty sure it came from the intel fund [of the President.] That is what we are looking at right now,” he said.

“It appears a huge chunk of the intel fund was used. That is what we need to investigate because with intel funds, whether of the local government units or even the Office of the President, the liquidation process is not so strict,” he pointed out.

The liquidation of intelligence funds may be audited, but the findings cannot be publicized.

Payout scheme

In a previous hearing, Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, who used to be the drug war’s poster boy, confirmed the kill orders, quotas and payout scheme for killing drug suspects.

Espenido said millions in reward money “flowed from the level of Senator Bong Go, a close aide of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”

Quadcom lead chair, Rep. Ace Barbers, supported Fernandez’s view, citing Espenido’s earlier statement that the reward system was funded with money from jueteng and other illegal gambling activities, the small-town lottery (STL), and the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

“Our impression is that the intelligence funds came from the Office of the President and the PNP. When these funds are audited, we will find out who is telling the truth or lying: Senator Bato and Senator Bong Go, or Garma and Espenido,” Barbers said.

As for the money from POGO, jueteng, and STL, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., another panel co-chair, said it was evident “these funds indeed flowed from the top.”

Abante said the testimonies established that in 2016, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, soon to be the Philippine National Police chief, and Go were seen in a meeting between Duterte and senior police officers, including Garma and Leonardo.

According to Abante, witnesses said “the Davao City EJK template and reward system was discussed during the meeting.”

“A few weeks later, the assassination of drug suspects in police operations and by riding-in-tandem hired guns started. It is not difficult to connect the dots,” he said.

Surprise, surprise

Garma surprised the lawmakers when she changed her tune and implicated her former boss, Duterte, in the order to police to mimic the so-called “Davao model,” which rewarded cops for killing drug suspects, and take it on a national scale.

She disclosed that a meeting was held in May 2016, a month before Duterte took office, to discuss the creation of a task force that would implement the nationwide killing.

Garma said Duterte wanted a police officer who was a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo to spearhead the special task force. She recommended Leonardo, who was then assigned to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Leonardo, who was said to be behind the ambush of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary Wesley Barayuga in July 2020, along with ex-PCSO general manager Garma, resigned from the National Police Commission last week.

Protect EJK witness

House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, meanwhile, urged the government to provide “adequate protection and security” to resource persons and key witnesses in the ongoing EJK probe, including Garma and former convict and self-confessed drug user Kerwin Espinosa.

“In fact, the provision of protective services to witnesses might even encourage, if not embolden, other individuals to come forward and cooperate in the investigation,” said Libanan, a lawyer.

“There’s no question that witnesses such as retired police colonel Royina Garma and alleged drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa, and their loved ones, are now extremely vulnerable to potential reprisals, given that they have offered damning sworn statements against highly influential people,” the lawmaker added.

Espinosa, who was instrumental in the arrest of then senator Leila de Lima, told the Quadcom that he was coerced by Dela Rosa, Duterte’s chief of police, into incriminating De Lima in the narcotics trade in the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as Justice secretary.

However, he recanted his allegation, claiming he wrongfully accused De Lima out of fear for his life.

Espinosa said Dela Rosa threatened him that he would a fate similar to his father’s, former Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was shot dead in his jail cell in November 2016.

Espinosa’s allegations resulted in the six year-long detention of De Lima.