Royina Garma (left) and former president Rodrigo Duterte (Speaker's office, Malacañang photo)

Retired police colonel and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma has accused former president Rodrigo Duterte of spearheading a national drug war model driven by cash rewards. 

Garma made this shocking revelation, and more in the form of a four-page affidavit during the marathon hearing of the House quad-committee (quad-comm) on Friday night, Oct. 11. 

Garma--who had previously been established as very close to Duterte--was an emotional wreck as she initially read her affidavit out loud before the special four-way panel. 

She sobbed uncontrollably and said that she feared for her life and that of her loved ones. 

But Garma eventually mustered the strength to read her affidavit not once, but twice upon the request of the quad-comm. The ex-PCSO chief also said for the record that she wasn't forced into executing the bombshell affidavit. 

"I took me one week to make some reflections...The truth will always set us free," said Garma, who had been detained in the House upon the order of the quad-comm.

"That was the same statement that my daughter told me," she would later share.

Royina Garma (Speaker's office)

'Davao model' 

Garma said that it was May 2016--or at least a month before Duterte officially assumed the presidency--when the latter called her and requested for a meeting at his residence in Dona Luisa, Davao City. 

"l was already acquainted with then-Mayor Duterte, having served as a station commander in one of the police stations in Davao during his tenure," she said. 

"During ou meeting, he requested that I locate a Philippine National Police (PNP) officer or operative who is a member of the lglesia Ni Cristo, indicating that he needed someone capable of implememting the war on drugs on a natonal scale, replicating the Davao model," Garma said. 

Duterte was the longtime mayor of Davao City before he won the May 2022 Palace race. 

According to Garma, the so-called 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 (or COPLANS). Third is the refund of operational exponses," she explained. 

Critics of the Duterte drug war have told the quad-comm that anywhere from 20,000 to over 30,000 people were slain during this period.

 (Speaker's office)

Who did Garma recommend? 

After her initial hesitancy, Garma said she came up with a name that she thought fits Duterte’s qualifications. 

"I recalled my upperclassman Edilberto Leonardo, who was handling the Criminal lnvestigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and was also a member of the lglesia Ni Criso. I mentioned his name to the President," 

Only a week after this, Leonardo was already linking up with Duterte and planning the conduct of the drug war, Garma told the quad-comm. 

"Leonardo subsequently informed me that he had prepared a proposal routed through

Bong Go, outlining the task force's operations, which would encompass Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao," she said. 

"He also inquired if he and his classmates could have a courtesy call with President Duterte through Bong Go for photo opportunities," Garma added.

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Garma, a former Cebu chief of police, said that Colonel Leonardo became so influential under the Duterte administration that he essentially determined the contents of the dreaded "narco-list". 

"Leonardo had the final authority to determine who would be included on the list of drug personalties and to classify their threat levels as well as the discretion to remove individuals from the list." 

She further said: "These are the critical facts I personally know regarding the drug war of the
previous administration. I am prepared to provide additional details and information in a supplemental affidavit or during an evecutive session, at the discretion of the committee."

She told the congressmen that she wanted to "bring back the people's trust" in the Philippine National Police (PNP) through her revelations.

P20,000 to P1 million per suspect killed 

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said he was "shook" by Garma’s claim of an expanded Davao model during the Duterte drug war. 

But the Makabayan solon said he had received reports from sources regarding a four-level payment system depending on the drug suspect killed. He asked Garma to confirm it. 

"May amount po (There is an amount) Mr. Chair from what I understand, starting P20,000 to P1 million, but I'm not familiar sa mga bracketing po (with the bracketing), she said. 

"I am not so specific po sa specific amounts, but true, there is an amount per level. I think Colonel Leonardo can explain po yung specific amount (the specific amount)," she said. 

When Manuel asked if the P20,000 reward was for the "street-level, small time" drug suspects, the ex-PCSO chief answered, "Most likely."

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Manuel recalled that the three Chinese drug lords slain in August 2016 within the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte fetched an alleged reward of P1 million each. 

He said they were reportedly classified as "chemists", which was part of the highest level or bracket along with "traders, manufacturers, financiers, and ninja cops". 

"You can confirm na yung pinakamataas ay isang milyon (You can confirm that the highest is one million)?" asked the youth lawmaker. 

"As far as I know, Mr. Chair," answered Garma, who had earlier been implicated in the DPPF killings along with Leonardo and Duterte.