Royina Garma (Speaker’s office)

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma has provided a possible lead to the 2018 assassination of former Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili, which is among the more shocking killings during previous Duterte administration. 

During the House quad-committee's (quad-comm) marathon hearing on Friday, Oct. 11, which lasted past midnight Saturday, Oct. 12, Garma mentioned a certain police official named "Albotra" as having something to do with Halili's death. 

She mentioned it to quad-comm co-chairman Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez during his interpellation. 

According to Garma, the famous or big personalities who were killed during former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs "were public knowledge". 

"It was public knowledge, it was in the newspaper like the couple na Odicta, ‘di ba namatay po ‘yon? Mayor Halili, mga mayors (like the Odicta couple, didn't they die? Mayor Halili and the mayors),” said Garma, a retired police colonel. 

Halili was killed by a sniper in front of his subordinates during a flag ceremony on July 2, 2018. It quickly became a cold case. 

“Ano ‘yong kay Mayor Halili? Sa Calabarzon ‘yan, Tony Halili, ano’ng pagka-alam mo sa pagkamatay ni Mayor Halili?” Fernandez asked. 

(What about Mayor Halili? That's from Calabarzon, Tony Halili, what do you know about the death of Mayor Halili?) 

"Chismis lang kasi ‘yon Mr. Chair, I think imported--kasi during that time po sa war on drugs, pwede pong tumawid ‘yong mga operatives….Pinagmalaki kasi ng isa sir eh, na sila,” answered Garma. 

(It was just a rumor Mr. Chair, I think imported--because during that time in the war in drugs, the operatives are allowed to cross over... There was one who bragged about it, that it was his team.) 

When Fernandez pressed Garma for the name of the operative, the ex-PCSO chief said, “Major Albotra, I think he was a lieutenant colonel, he bragged about that to me before, I said ‘oh really’? I asked ‘How did you do it?’" 

To this, Albotra reportedly replied to her that he "knows the people in the team". 

“And they were behind the killing of Tony Halili?” asked Fernandez, to which Garma said yes. 

In the same hearing, Garma confirmed that a four-level payment system was followed for police when it came to drug war killings. The payments or cash rewards per kill ranged from P20,000 to P1 million, depending on the type of suspect neutralized.