Royina Garma (left), Roland Vilela (Facebook)

The House quad-committee (quad-comm) is eager to dig deeper into an intriguing cliffhanger detail about former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma and her ex-husband, Roland Vilela. 

It was established during the mega panel’s last hearing on Sept. 27 that Garma had sent Vilela in the United States (US) at least P50 million--converted to dollars--through the latter's diplomatic channel. 

Vilela, a retired police colonel like Garma, served as a police attaché at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California between 2020 and 2022. 

But the question is, what's the purpose of sending Vilela the big amount of money? The Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers-led quad-comm has yet to flesh this out, since it is taking a break from holding hearings amid the six-week congressional recess. 

At any rate, these revelations suggest possible misuse of government resources, specifically from the PNP’s diplomatic pouches that are intended for official communications and attaché salaries. 

Garma--reported to be very close to be very close to former president Rodrigo Duterte--is implicated in allegations of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that occurred during the previous administration’s brutal war on drugs. 

Diplomatic pouch system for personal use? 

Quad-comm Vice Chairman Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop’s questioning of former and current PNP officials, including then-chief of the directorate for intelligence and later PNP Chief Benjamin Acorda Jr., revealed during the hearing the possibility that the PNP’s diplomatic pouch system was used to funnel “personal” funds to Garma’s ex-husband. 

Acorda confirmed that police attaché salaries and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) were regularly sent through these channels. "Yes, Your Honor. Especially if there are some special occasions or visits and additional expenses that are incurred by our police attachés," Acorda explained. 

Pointing out the system's vulnerability to misuse, Acop wondered if it could be used for personal transfers disguised as official ones. 

“Personal na padala pupuwede (Personal transfers are possible), would that be correct?” Acop asked, to which Acorda hesitantly responded, “Yes, Your Honor, to my understanding.” 

Acop then quizzed Vilela, who admitted receiving more than just his official salary through the diplomatic pouch. “Kanino galing iyong hindi kasama sa suweldo mo at MOOE na natatanggap mo through the diplomatic pouch?” asked the Antipolo solon. 

(The money that wasn't part of your salary and MOOE, but received thought the diplomatic pouch, where did it come from?) 

Vilela responded, “Iyong sahod ko po na dito (It's my salary here), Your Honor,” referring to the P120,000 he received monthly in the Philippines, in addition to the $8,000 he earned as a police attaché. 

Vilela’s admission raised further suspicion, and prompted Acop--a retired police general--to press harder to determine whether or not the extra money came from personal sources. 

This led to the testimony of Police Captain Delfinito Anuba, Vilela’s errand man, who was responsible for converting pesos into dollars and sending them to Vilela in the US. 

Garma’s cousin 

Anuba revealed the extent of these transactions, and confirmed to the quad-comm that he was instructed by Vilela to convert large sums of pesos into US dollars and then send them via diplomatic channels. 

Anuba claimed that he collected the funds from Garma’s security team, specifically Sergeant Enecito Ubales Jr. Ubales is Garma’s first cousin. 

Anuba revealed that he converted P30 million and P20 million into dollars for Vilela. Asked how often such transactions occurred, Anuba said, “Dalawang beses lang po akong nagpapalit ng malaki (I only exchanged a large amount of money twice),” but admitted to making smaller exchanges more frequently. 

Ubales denied any involvement, but Acop moved that he be cited for contempt after he contradicted Anuba’s account. 

“May katotohanan ba iyong sinabi niya [Anuba] (Is there truth to Anuba's statements?)” Acop asked. Ubales denied it, to which Acop responded, “Mas paniniwalaan ko ito [Anuba]. Sinungaling ka rin, eh (I believe him more. You're a liar).” 

The mega-panel has since ordered Ubales’ detention at Quezon City Jail until the investigation concludes. 

Despite these revelations, the questions of where the money came from and why it was sent to Vilela remain unanswered. The quad-comm is now focused on uncovering the source of these funds.