MANILA – There were rumors about the supposed reward system for slain drug suspects during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” but no witnesses came forward to confirm it.
According to now-Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, he heard about it when he was still Justice Secretary under the Duterte administration, but no one witnessed it.
“May mga sabi-sabi lang about it, pero walang actual na testigo who came forward para sabihin na meron talagang ganyang sistema na initiated by, you know, people sa taas kaya masasabing may scheme talaga,” Guevarra said in an interview with GMA TV’s Balitanghali.
Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma revealed during House of Representatives’ Quad Committee (QuadComm) hearing about the “war on drugs” reward system.
According to Garma, former President Duterte asked her on May 2016 to look for a police officer who could implement the “Davao model” of the drug war on a national scale.
The Davao model being referred to by Garma is a “system involving payments and rewards.”
Guevarra said the DOJ under his leadership also conducted a probe into the drug war but it was cut short during the change of leadership from Duterte to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“Inaasahan namin na ang DOJ at ang iba pang law enforcement agencies ay ipagpapatuloy ‘yung aming imbestigasyon nung ako ay Justice secretary at mas madali na ngayon ang kanilang gagawing investigation dahil ang QuadComm ay nakakakalap na ng bagong ebidensya na hindi lumilitaw nung nakaraang administrasyon,” he said./PN
