FOLLOWING former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma’s revelations about the war on drugs, there’s a possibility that her former classmate at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), retired PCol. Edilberto Leonardo, will also come forward with his own information.
In an interview, House committee on human rights chair Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. revealed that Leonardo requested an audience with the Quad Committee chairs and gave an indication that he would speak.
“We had an initial talk… He asked that we talk to him. Initially speaking, he already has an intention that, okay, he will detail the others,” according to Abante, one of the four chairs of the Quad Comm. Garma recommended Leonardo to former president Rodrigo Duterte when the president allegedly sought an official capable of implementing the war on drugs using the “Davao Model,” where police officers are paid to kill drug suspects.
He also allegedly directly communicated with then-Special Assistant to the President (SAP) and now Senator Bong Go for the reward system, after the two established their communication.
However, according to Abante, there is no certainty yet if Leonardo, who has now resigned as Commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and is currently detained at the Batasan Pambansa Complex after being cited in contempt, will sing.
Meanwhile, Quad Comm’s lead chair Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that the initial committee report is set to be released to allow the Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin the process of filing cases against individuals involved in the war on drugs. “We will release an initial report because this investigation is still ongoing. There are many discoveries every day, so it’s not ending,” said Barbers. Included in the committee report that will be released is the assassination of former PCSO board secretary and retired PGen. Wesley Barayuga, where Lt.Col. Santie Mendoza pointed to Leonardo and Garma as the ones who ordered him to find an assassin to kill the official because he was allegedly involved in illegal drugs.
