Royina Garma (left), Kerwin Espinosa






 

A high-ranking congressman is prodding the Marcos administration to provide “adequate protection and security” to key witnesses in the quad-committee’s (quad-comm) ongoing probe into the past administration’s controversial war on drugs that allegedly resulted to massive atrocities. 

“There’s no question that witnesses such as retired police colonel Royina Garma and alleged drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa, and their loved ones, are now extremely vulnerable to potential reprisals, given that they have offered damning sworn statements against highly influential people,” House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said I'm a statement Tuesday, Oct. 15. 

“The appropriate agencies should safeguard resource persons or key witnesses who have offered testimonial evidence to the quad committee and who have clearly exposed themselves and their family members to grave danger,” Libanan said. 

“In fact, the provision of protective services to witnesses might even encourage, if not embolden, other individuals to come forward and  cooperate in the investigation,” he pointed out. 

The quad-comm refers to the special four-way panel in the House of Representatives that sought investigate, in aid if legislation, the alleged interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), extrajudicial killings (EJKs), money laundering, and the previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs. 

Libanan, a lawyer by profession, served as chairperson of the House Committee on Justice when he was representative of the Eastern Samar’s lone congressional district. 

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Garma previously testified before the quad comm that the past administration adopted the “Davao model” in waging the war on drugs, where police officers involved in the EJKs of suspects received cash rewards. Based on past quad-comm hearings, money coming from POGO were allegedly used for such rewards. 

Meanwhile, Espinosa told the quad-comm that he was coerced by former national police chief and now-Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to incriminate then-senator Leila de Lima in a drug trafficking scandal. This led to De Lima's incarceration, which lasted over six years.