By: Villamor C. Visaya Jr.
(Published in its print edition on March 1 – 7, 2025)
The national government of the Philippines does not agree about the delicate issue of the reward for the anti-drug campaign during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
This is a big decision by the Marcos government because for them, the concerned agencies of the Philippine government and not the International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate the uncovered “monetary reward system” of the anti-drug campaign during the time of Duterte.
The Solicitor General, Menardo Guevarra, is in favor of this matter. This is true because he said the evidence gathered in the hearing of the House quad committee will be good for the government, but the evidence should not be submitted and used by international agencies. It is only right that the pieces of evidence can be shared with agencies that are only suitable to formally investigate the Duterte administration but not the ICC.
The “reward system” became an issue due to the testimony of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina Garma in the committee’s hearing.
It can be recalled that Garma was the chief of one of the precincts of the Davao City Police before then President Rodrigo Duterte assigned him to the PCSO.
The cash reward system for police officers involved in the anti-drug campaign is said to be patterned to the Davao City model. The system works on whether the suspect dies, includes the funding and return of what the police have spent on the operation.
Since these are government jobs, they should only be given to government agencies such as the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation and Office of the Ombudsman and not to international agencies. The first action in justice is from the country of the Philippines. Not the foreign agencies.#
