Sen. dela Rosa denies reward system for ‘drug war’ deaths
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 October) – There was no reward system using the “Davao Model” for police personnel involved in anti-drug operations during the Duterte administration, former Philippine National Police (PNP) director general and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa was reacting to allegations by retired police colonel Royina Garma in a sworn affidavit that she read in a House quad committee hearing Friday that former President Rodrigo Duterte asked her to find a police officer capable of prosecuting the “war on drugs” using such a model.
“The Davao Model involves three levels of payments or rewards. First is the reward if the suspect is killed. Second is the funding of planned operations (COPLANS). Third is the refund of operational expenses,” Garma said.
She alleged that only killings would earn payments with the reward ranging from P20,000 to P1 million, but added she is not familiar how it worked.
But dela Rosa said he did not know of such a system.
“Ewan ko, hindi ko naman hawak ang babaeng iyan, hindi man close sa akin yan. Ang relationship namin, ay bilang chief [PNP], subordinate, yun lang, wala naman kaming specific relationship (I don’t know, I don’t have control of her, we’re not even close. Our relationship was me as chief PNP and her as a subordinate. That’s all, we don’t have a specific relationship),” he said in an interview with Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC)-owned Sonshine Media Network International that was posted Saturday midnight.
KOJC is led by Apollo Quiboloy, a Duterte ally who is being detained on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
Dela Rosa said Garma has been Duterte’s “friend” when she was assigned as a police officer in Davao City. Garma used to be the station commander of Sasa and Sta. Ana police stations.
“Hindi ko alam ang mga sinasabi niya, hindi ko pa narinig (I don’t know what she’s saying, I haven’t heard about it),” he said.
He said how would Duterte “ask a police major (Garma’s police rank at that time) to identify a chief PNP.”
Garma recalled recommending her upperclassman at the PNP Academy, Police Col. Edilberto Leonardo, who was then with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Leonardo was then summoned by the President and tasked with forming a national anti-drug task force, she said.
She said Leonardo led briefings for Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and PNP officials, among others, had the final say on the drug watchlist, and reported the operations directly to Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s long-time aide who was elected as senator in 2019.
Official records placed the “drug war” deaths during the Duterte administration at around 6,000. But human rights groups said the death toll may be as high as 30,000.
The Philippines is facing an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity that might have been committed during the “war on drugs.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. initially declared the ICC was not welcome in the Philippines, saying its investigation violates the country’s sovereignty.
But in August this year, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, in a statement that observers said signaled a shift in policy, said: “[The Philippines] has no legal duty to lend any assistance to [ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan] in conducting his investigation. But the Philippine government cannot stop him from proceeding any way he wants.”
The Philippines, on Duterte’s order, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, in 2018. The withdrawal became effective starting in 2019.
However, the Rome Statute provides that a State may still be investigated for crimes covered by the agreement that were committed before its withdrawal took effect. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
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