Leonardo confirms reward plan in Duterte’s drug war

RETIRED Police Col. Edilberto Leonardo on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, confirmed the compensation scheme for police personnel during the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

During the resumption of the House QuadComm investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during Duterte’s bloody drug war, Leonardo responded affirmatively when asked if he believes the testimonies of retired police colonel Royina Garma on the system, which offers monetary rewards to the police. personnel in exchange for the murder of drug suspects.

“Meron po akong naririnig, Mr. Chairman. Pero wala po akong personal knowledge, Mr. Chairman,” he said.

(I heard something, Mr. Chairman. But I have no personal knowledge, Mr. Chairman.)

On October 11, Garma emotionally read her affidavit directly implicating Duterte in the EJKs conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the crackdown on illegal drugs under his administration.

She said he asked her in May 2016, months before Duterte took office, to find someone “capable of carrying out the war on drugs on a national scale, replicating the Davao model.”

Garma said the Davao model referred to the system of payments and rewards at three levels: reward if the suspect is killed, financing of planned operations and reimbursement of operational costs.

She said the incentive ranges from P20,000 to P1 million depending on the threat level of the neutralized drug personality.

Garma said she later learned that Duterte tapped Leonardo through police personnel Arthur Nasolis to implement the Davao model.

She said Leonardo is the one in control of who should be placed on or removed from the drug list, and the threat level of the personalities on it.

Leonardo said the PNP’s Oplan Double Barrel had been implemented in place of the Davao model.

“Actually, plano lang po yun, na parang Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao po, lalagyan ng mga tao. Go make a plan. Tumulong po sa war on drugs, Mr. Chairman. Ganun na ho ‘yun,’ said Leonardo.

(Actually, that’s just a plan, like Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, to assign people there. That’s our plan – to help with the war on drugs, Mr. Chairman. That’s how it is.)

“Matapos kami magplano na hindi naman pala uubra, ‘yun pong Davao model, kasi and ‘yung Tokhang actually, and ibig sabihin ay kakatok, tapos ay pakikiusapan to sumurrender na. “Yun po ang gagawing national scale after iimplementation of PNP under Oplan Double Barrel,” he added.

(After we planned something that actually wouldn’t work, the Davao model, which is what Tokhang means: knocking and then asking people to surrender. That will be implemented on a national scale by the PNP under Oplan Double Barrel.)

The Oplan Double Barrel includes the controversial Oplan Tokhang, where police officers make door-to-door visits to suspected drug users to encourage them to surrender to authorities so they can receive counseling to help them improve their behavior.

Leonardo also denied benefiting financially from Duterte’s drug war.

‘Deep-rooted’

Earlier in the hearing, former Senator Leila de Lima alleged that Duterte’s reward system for implementing his campaign against illegal drugs is “deep-rooted,” noting that it has been going on since his tenure as mayor of Davao City.

De Lima, former chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), cited the results of their 2009 investigation against the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), which committed the killings during Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign.

She said it emerged that the DDS hitmen paid around £15,000 for each murder, with £5,000 given to ‘police officers’, while the remaining £10,000 was distributed to the killers.

De Lima was held from February 2017 to March 2024 for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

All drug cases against De Lima have already been dismissed.

The charges against her were based on the testimony of several individuals during a 2016 Senate investigation, most notably self-proclaimed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, who linked De Lima to the illegal drug trade at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her period as secretary. of Justice and alleged that she took millions in drug money from him to finance her senatorial race.

Espinosa later recanted his statements against De Lima, claiming they were mere lies made after he was allegedly coerced, pressured, intimidated and seriously threatened by police.

He added that he had no choice but to fabricate stories and collaborate, otherwise he and some members of his family would suffer the same fate as his father, who was killed by police while being held in Baybay Prison City.

At the same hearing, Police Colonel Jovie Espenido, who has been labeled the poster child of the drug war for the successful operations he led against drug suspects, confirmed Espinosa’s claims that former police chief and now Senator Bato dela Rosa had asked him to link De Lima to the illegal drug trafficking.

Dela Rosa previously denied Espinosa’s claims.

Meanwhile, Garma somehow corroborated De Lima’s “deep-rooted” claims when she admitted knowledge of the DDS way back in 1999 when she was assigned to the Davao City Police Department.

“It was common knowledge among officers that almost all station commanders had designated special teams for specific operations. Although I did not know the identity of these teams, there was a culture of silence among police officers in Davao on such matters,” Garma said.

Garma said that during her assignment in Davao City, she received P20,000 twice for the neutralization of “Akyat Bahay” suspects.

She also said that during her time, all station commanders were required to submit reports on successful police operations to the local government of Davao by the end of every month.

She said P5,000 was allocated to each case as reimbursement for operational expenses such as cash, meals, gasoline and payments for officers. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)