Duterte intel funds next focus of House probe — lawmaker

Metro Manila, Philippines — The House committees probing extrajudicial killings will next tackle confidential and intelligence funds of then President Rodrigo Duterte in relation to the bloody drug war, a ranking lawmaker said on Wednesday, Oct. 16

“There was an allegation that funds coming from a certain Muking from Malacañang released the funds to a person named Pedro Parungo through several banks,” Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez said in a statement.

“This needs to be validated and to this we need to see how the budget of the former president (Rodrigo Duterte) was utilized, particularly the intel fund,” he said.

Fernandez is co-chairman of the House quad panel probing the connection between EJK, illegal offshore gaming, and illegal drugs.

PCol Royina Garma (ret.), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager, said the past administration had what she called the “Davao model” in the bloody drug war: a reward system for the deaths of drug suspects. She was a longtime police officer in the Duterte stronghold Davao with a short stint in Cebu before her retirement and appointment to the PCSO in 2019.

READ: Cops killing ‘suspects’ in previous admin’s drug war ‘rewarded’ – ex-Duterte ally

In a forum, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, another co-chairman of the quad committee, said the “reward money” is still a big question mark.

“There is no legal basis for the government to provide reward money for the kill,” said Barbers.

He said “reward money” is given to informants and assets tapped by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, not to law enforcers.

“Pero hindi naman natin nga sinasabi sa ngayon ‘yan because wala po tayong ebidensiya,” he also said on the claim that intelligence funds were used. “Wala pa rin tayong corroborative statement… or documents for that matter na lumabas sa ngayon.”

[Translation: We’re still not saying that since we don’t have evidence. We still don’t have a corroborative statement or documents for that matter for now.]

Barbers said the investigation will also cover the PCSO and small-town lottery operations as supposed drug war fund sources.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, meanwhile, said the ex-president’s secret funds may have also been used to silence critics.

She said the Duterte administration had P2.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds in its first two years, adding that it rose to P4.5 billion as it “intensified its attacks on critics.”

“Ang mga panahong iyon ang sunod-sunod ang mga raid sa mga opisina at tahanan ng mga progresibong organisasyon at indibidwal,” she said. “Ito rin ang panahon ng sangkatutak na mga nanlaban daw sa mga pulis.”

[Translation: There were successive raids in the offices and homes of progressive organizations and individuals at the time. That was also the time when a lot of them supposedly resisted police officers.]

Asked by reporters about the investigations, Sen. Bato dela Rosa, implementer of Duterte’s drug war as then PNP chief, said, “Wala namang nagpipigil sa kanila na mag-imbestiga.”

[Translation: No one is stopping them from investigating.]