Retired police colonel Royina Garma bared Tuesday that former President Rodrigo Duterte called after her testimony in the previous House Quad Committee hearing, where she talked about his alleged reward system for officers, who killed drug suspects.
During the interpellation by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro in the ninth public hearing of the Quad Comm, Garma said she received another phone call from Duterte, explaining why he asked her to find someone connected with the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) to be part of his anti-drug operations.
“He said an Iglesia ni Cristo member can be trusted with money,” Garma said quoting the former president. INC is the most influential religious group in the country, which is known for its ‘bloc-voting’ practice during elections.
Garma previously stated in an affidavit that in May 2016, Duterte instructed her to find a police officer belonging to the religious group. This officer would be tasked with implementing the ‘Davao model,’ which allegedly offered cash rewards for the killing of drug suspects.
This person turned out to be former National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, Garma’s upperclassman, who was then working for the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police regional office in Davao.
Despite her testimony, Garma said Duterte did not attempt to prevent her from speaking out about the controversial anti-drug operations during his administration.
