Barbers confident DILG's reward system findings will echo Quad Comm revelations

The impending in-depth probe by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) into the “grand conspiracy” within the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will back up the findings of the House quad committee about the supposed cash reward system during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, panel chairperson Ace Barbers said Tuesday.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced on Monday that the probe will cover drug seizures conducted by the PNP from 2016 to 2022, including a high-profile staged buy-bust operation involving P6.7 billion worth of shabu in Tondo, Manila, in October 2022. This follows the Department of Justice (DoJ) filing criminal charges against 30 of the 49 implicated officers.

“This only confirms what we, in the quad comm, have uncovered — the Duterte administration’s reward system turned law enforcement into a criminal enterprise. It prioritized kill statistics and inflated accomplishments over genuine reform and public safety,” Barbers said.

Adverse incentives of the reward system

The DILG, according to Remulla, is looking into how this reward system, purportedly started in 2016 when Duterte assumed the presidency, encouraged police officers to report only a portion of the drugs busted and then stashed the remaining for their subsequent operations.

“Because there was a reward, they would take small amounts and place them there. With the reward, there was an accomplishment,” Remulla told the media during a briefing in the Palace.

To recall, retired police colonel Royina Garma, an alleged trusted aide of Duterte, told the quad comm that the anti-narcotics campaign of the previous administration involved a payout scheme with rewards ranging from P20,000 to P1 million depending on the prominence of the target.

She claimed that only police officers who killed drug suspects would receive the monetary incentives.

The former president himself repeatedly claimed during a congressional hearing that he encouraged police to provoke drug suspects to fight back as a pretext to kill them. He also admitted the cash reward system in his drug war but claimed that only “for the boys” who resolved “big crimes.”

Barbers criticized Duterte’s drug war as a “catastrophic failure” that fostered corruption within the PNP.

“This fabricated drug haul is not an isolated case — it’s a damning indictment of Duterte’s entire approach to governance. By prioritizing kill statistics over accountability, he turned the PNP into a rogue organization that thrived on shortcuts and blood money,” Barbers said.

Criminal charges recommended

In December, the quad comm recommended filing criminal charges against Duterte and top allies, including Senators Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, as well as former police chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas.

These officials, along with others, were implicated in violating Section 6 of Republic Act 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and other Crimes against Humanity.

Despite the Quad Comm’s findings, the panel has refused to submit its report or cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating alleged crimes against humanity during Duterte’s presidency. The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, though the ICC maintains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed prior to the withdrawal.

Government data shows over 7,000 reported killings under Duterte’s drug war, though human rights groups estimate the toll may exceed 30,000, predominantly impacting low-income communities.

The DoJ stated that it will consolidate the Quad Comm’s report with its own findings and proceed with case filings through the National Prosecution Service if warranted.