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‘She is vicious. Don’t let Garma’s tears fool you,’ former Cebu City mayor Tommy Osmeña says
MANILA, Philippines – Former Cebu City mayor Tommy Osmeña revealed on Thursday, September 19, that former president Rodrigo Duterte allegedly ignored the information that accused retired police colonel Royina Garma of receiving payola from illegal gambling.
“I talked to the president personally. [He told me to] tell everything to Bong Go. I gave all the reports to Bong Go. He was there and Bong Go didn’t do anything,” Osmeña told reporters after attending the House of Representatives’ “quad committee” hearing on Thursday, September 19.
Osmeña also said on Thursday that he opposed Garma’s appointment as Cebu City police chief when he was the mayor because of the retired cop’s alleged involvement in illegal gambling.
“It (the report) says that when Garma was head of CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) she was collecting P1 million a week. I cannot accept this for Cebu City. And her bagman was a certain SPO4 Art,” the former Cebu City mayor said. “Now it appears that SPO4 Art is not only a lover. She brought this policeman with her when she was appointed to PCSO.”
The former mayor also showed a PCSO document, which he said he got from a source.
The May 2018 PCSO letter addressed to then-interior chief Eduardo Año stated: “In Central Visayas, the LGU (local government unit) in Bohol Province has identified PSupt REYINA (sic) MARZAN GARMA of CIDG 7 of receiving ‘payola’ from illegal gambling operators/ financiers in the amount of around ONE-MILLION Pesos (PhP 1,000, 000.00) every week. Named bag manicollector (sic) for PSupt Garma is a certain SPO4 ART.”
Osmeña originally posted in his Facebook account the copy of the PCSO letter in 2019, but reshared it during the hearing. He added that the PCSO internally probed the allegations even before Garma became the office’s general manager.
Despite oppositions, Garma was chosen as Cebu City police chief under Duterte, and then later as PCSO general manager after availing of early retirement in 2019.
Garma is a retired cop identified by self-confessed DDS member Arturo Lascañas as an alleged member of the infamous Davao Death Squad. She was also the Cebu City’s police chief when the area gained notoriety as a hotspot for drug war killings.
The retired cop is currently being probed by the quad committee for her alleged involvement in the killing of three Chinese drug lords in 2016. She is now detained within the House premises after she was cited in contempt last week for evading questions during the quad committee hearing. (READ: ‘DDS cops’ flourished under Duterte, but now being probed under Marcos)
Garma’s complaint
The feud between Osmeña and Garma persisted even after the latter was appointed as Cebu City’s top cop. Osmeña attributed the rise of drug war killings in the city to Garma’s appointment.
For intervening in the arrest and release of three individuals in 2018, Garma filed an obstruction of justice complaint and an administrative case against Osmeña for grave misconduct with the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman found Osmeña guilty of grave misconduct and suspended him for a year, but since he’s no longer an official, he was fined instead.
But in a resolution dated July 10, the Ombudsman reversed its decision and cleared Osmeña in the cases. Osmeña told reporters that his camp received the resolution on Thursday.
“She is vicious. Don’t let Garma’s tears fool you,” Osmeña said. – Rappler.com
