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Leonardo says he believes in Garma’s two affidavits, which talk about the existence of the Davao Death Squad and a cash reward scheme for drug war killings
MANILA, Philippines – Retired police colonel Edilberto Leonardo confirmed on Tuesday, October 22, a scheme that offered cash incentives in exchange for killings under the war on drugs of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“Do you believe that there is a reward system?” House human rights panel chairman Bienvenido Abante asked Leonardo during the ninth public hearing of the quad committee.
“Yes, Mr. Chair,” Leonardo replied, although he later said he has no personal experience, and that his answer was based on stories he heard from colleagues in the police force.
Reired police colonel Royina Garma, in her affidavit read out loud to the House quad committee on October 11, claimed that Duterte called her after winning the presidential election in May 2016, telling her that he “needed someone capable of implementing the war on drugs on a national scale, replicating the Davao model.”
The Davao model refers to a system of payment which rewarded drug war actors for successful killings, funded planned operations, and refunded operational expenses.
Garma claimed that Leonardo was subsequently tapped to coordinate with police officers in implementing the operation and processing rewards.
During Tuesday’s quad committee hearing, Garma said even she received P20,000 at one time for intercepting a suspect involved in an Akyat Bahay (robbery) scheme who later died in the hospital from his gunshot wound.
Her second affidavit also confirmed the existence of the Davao Death Squad.
“Although I did not know the identities of these teams, a culture of silence prevailed among police officers in Davao regarding such matter,” she said.
Leonardo later corroborated Garma’s affidavits.
“In those two affidavits of Colonel Garma that you read and listened to, do you believe them?” Abante asked.
“Yes, Mr Chair,” Leonardo said.
Leonardo, however, clarified that the plan to create a task force that would replicate the Davao model nationwide did not push through, as it was replaced by Oplan Double Barrel, which operationalized the drug war.
He also said he was not the “pay master” of the reward scheme.
He also answered in the affirmative when asked if he was assigned to lead the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of Davao Region to validate drug war-related information for Senator Bong Go, who directly reports to Duterte. – Rappler.com
