Supt. Gerardo Padilla (Facebook)

Supt. Gerardo Padilla, the former warden of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte, is now singing a different tune regarding the killing of three Chinese drug lords inside the prison in August 2016. 

Padilla, who attended the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing Wednesday, Sept. 4, recanted his statements during the previous hearings and subsequently linked former president Rodrigo Duterte to the killings of three Chinese drug lords within DPPF. 

The alleged link to the former chief executive is then-Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) officer Royina Garma, who is reportedly close to Duterte. 

Padilla, 64, told the quad-comm that he had a conversation with Garma regarding the murders, and implied that the latter was acting under orders from a higher authority. 

“Prior to such killings, I have been subjected to an intense pressure by then CIDG Officer Royina Garma who called me up through the cellphone of another inmate Jimmy Fortaleza,” Padilla said in his new affidavit. 

“Chief Garma told me ‘May mga tao kami dyan na gagawa at huwag mo na kwestiyonin, and whether you like it or not we will operate and do not interfere, baka madamay pa pamilya mo,'" he said. 

(We have people there who will do some work, don't question it, and whether you like it or not we will operate and do not interfere, your family might get involved.) 

She reportedly added, "Mag-cooperate ka na lang or mananagot ka sa amin (Just cooperate or else you'll pay the price)." 

During interpellation, co-chairman Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. questioned Padilla about whether there was pressure coming from Garma or someone else. 

Padilla acknowledged there was a "bigger person" behind Garma’s orders, and although he hesitated to directly implicate Duterte, he agreed that Garma was acting under the control of a more powerful figure. 

When Abante asked if this figure was Duterte, Padilla replied, “Yes, your honor.” 

Shortly after this, the quad-comm held an executive session or a closed-door session upon the request of the former warden. The executive session last two hours. 

Padilla, currently detained in the House for contempt after refusing to be truthful, retracted his earlier denial of involvement in the killings of Chu Kin Tung, also known as Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, also known as Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, also known as Wang Ming Ping. 

Self-confessed hitmen Leopoldo “Tata” Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro--both DPPF inmates--had earlier admitted to the special four-way panel thar they killed the three Chinese nationals on the alleged orders of Duterte. 

In his testimony, Tan claimed that after the killings, he overheard Padilla receive a congratulatory phone call, allegedly from Duterte, praising him for a job well done. 

Padilla denied this during the Aug. 28 quad-comm hearing; but in his latest two-paged affidavit Wednesday, he directly implicated Garma in the murders. 

“I denied it because I was under threat and I am concerned with my safety and that of my family who lives in Davao City...In fact and in truth, I had a conversation of CIDG Chief Garma as mentioned above but I did not divulge at the time for security reasons,” he added in his affidavit dated Sept. 2, 2024. 

Witnesses in the quad-comm probe alleged that Garma was involved in the planning and overseeing of the killings inside the DPPF. She has been invited to the probe but so far, she failed to appear before the congressmen. 

“These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of abuse that we believe Garma had a direct hand in. The gravity of these allegations cannot be overstated,” said Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, overall chairman of the quad-comm, said earlier in the hearing.