More Garma bombshells anticipated

A House leader on Sunday expressed optimism that retired police colonel Royina Garma will deliver more explosive testimony in the upcoming investigation into the Duterte administration’s controversial drug war, following her previous claim that the anti-drug campaign included police incentives of up to P1 million.

Garma, identified as a close aide of former President Rodrigo Duterte, surprised lawmakers when she changed her stance and directly implicated Duterte in ordering police to adopt the “Davao model,” a system offering rewards to officers for killing drug suspects, with incentives reaching as high as P1 million.

“These revelations are shocking, but unfortunately, not surprising. The Duterte administration was known for its violent rhetoric, and we are now seeing how deeply entrenched this violence was in the institutions themselves,” said House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre.

Acidre added, “Garma’s testimony doesn’t just implicate rogue officers — it implicates the highest levels of government, including Duterte and [Senator Christopher ‘Bong’] Go.”

Garma, who rose through the police ranks and was later appointed by Duterte as general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, told the joint committee that an assembly was held in May 2016 — one month before Duterte took office — to discuss creating a task force to implement the nationwide killings. She claimed the monetary rewards for drug-related killings ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the target’s prominence.

Garma accused Go, a long-time ally of Duterte, of overseeing the anti-drug operations, alleging that Go would collect weekly reports of fatalities and submit them to Duterte for reimbursement of operational costs.

Senator Go dismissed Garma’s allegations as “malicious” and “unsubstantiated.” Another close Duterte ally, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who once led the drug war as a Philippine National Police chief, denied that monetary rewards were involved in the operations.

Supporting the call for a thorough investigation, Acidre stressed the need to uncover the extent of the alleged corruption and violence during Duterte’s administration, especially given the involvement of high-profile figures.

“We’re talking about a reward system for murder. This isn’t governance; this is criminal,” Acidre said. “The fact that such a system existed — and that it was reported directly to figures like Go — proves that this wasn’t just a war on drugs, but a war on the most vulnerable in our society.”

The joint committee plans to investigate whether Duterte used intelligence funds to finance the reward system, given a significant increase in requests for such funds compared to the administration of his predecessor, the late Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

In 2016, Duterte acknowledged the existence of extrajudicial killings but maintained that they were not state-sponsored.

The committee will hold its ninth hearing on Tuesday to examine the alleged extrajudicial killings committed during the previous administration.

Panel chair Ace Barbers confirmed that Duterte was invited to testify but said his decision to attend would be respected. Barbers also stated that the committee would not hold Duterte in contempt if he refused the invitation.

The Duterte administration reported more than 7,000 deaths under its anti-drug campaign. However, local and international human rights organizations estimate that the death toll exceeds 30,000, predominantly affecting low-income families and communities.