De Lima says Garma’s testimony enough to implicate Duterte in cruel drug war

October 14, 2024 , 07:01 PM

By Gabriel Kim Leal

(October 14, 2024) – Former senator Leila De Lima on Monday said the testimony of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma are enough to implicate former president Rodrigo Duterte in his alleged “reward system” during his brutal war on drugs.

Garma said during the quad committee hearing in the House of Representatives last Friday that Duterte offered cash rewards to police officers for killing drug suspects.

De Lima described Garma’s affidavit as “strong.”

“Diretsuhan niyang tinuro si former president Duterte na siyang tumawag one day at pinapunta pa siya sa kanya at nagpapahanap ng puwedeng mag-handle ng pag-implement ng war on drugs based on the ‘Davao model,’” said De Lima on One PH’s One Balita Pilipinas.

Garma was appointed by Duterte to head the PCSO just days after retiring as the chief of Cebu City Police. She also formerly served as a police station commander in Davao City.

She admitted tapping Edilberto Leonardo, who at that time was assigned to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, to heed Duterte’s request.

Leonardo was later appointed by Duterte as the commissioner of the National Police Commission. He resigned last October 8 after being implicated, along with Garma, in the killing of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga.

While De Lima acknowledged the strength of Garma’s testimony, she noted that the latter appeared hesitant to admit her direct involvement in Duterte’s cruel war on drugs.

“Parang may wini-withold pa siya. At lagi siyang nagdi-disown ng personal knowledge sa karamihan ng sinasabi,” added De Lima. “Mas malakas sana kung siya mismo ay aaminin niya na kasama siya. But of course, she has to think also of herself. She has to save her own skin.”

De Lima, one of Duterte’s staunchest critics, was arrested in 2017 over three drug-related charges. She was cleared of all cases after seven years in jail.

Last Friday, self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa revealed to the quad committee that Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, a close ally of Duterte and police chief during the height of the bloody war on drugs, forced him to implicate De Lima in the drug trade.

(PM)

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