EDITORIAL - Come out and talk

During his presidency, Rodrigo Duterte often reassured members of the Philippine National Police, especially those involved in his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, that he had their back, and that in case of a criminal investigation, he would be the only one to go to jail for drug-related killings.

Recent developments should show PNP members that this reassurance is as empty as Duterte’s campaign promise to eliminate the drug scourge nationwide within six months of assuming power in 2016. Today, several former officials who played key roles in his administration have started talking about the gross abuses that have been widely suspected, but never validated, in the so-called war on drugs.

Other PNP members who carried out the war, whether retired or still in active duty, should do the same, if not to assuage their conscience, then to reduce the possible criminal indictments and punishment they could face for engaging in extrajudicial killings.

Last year, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had urged PNP members who participated in the war on drugs to come out and talk, as he reassured them of protection from harm. There were no takers. Where gentle persuasion has failed, four committees of the House of Representatives appear to be succeeding. Saying the truth shall set her free, Royina Garma has found enlightenment and started talking to the quad comm. The testimony of Garma, a retired PNP colonel who was appointed by Duterte as general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, corroborated the statements of Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido. Still in the active PNP service, Espenido has submitted a sworn affidavit and testified in person that under Duterte, there was a quota and reward system for the killing of drug suspects.

It may be true that Garma is diverting attention from the serious offenses attributed to her by other witnesses who have faced the quad committee. Even with the diversion, however, nothing stops authorities from verifying the accusations against Garma and pressing criminal charges against her if warranted, while at the same time looking at the allegations about the cash reward system.

The nation awaits similar enlightenment from another retired PNP colonel, Edilberto Leonardo. Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza had tagged Leonardo and Garma as the brains behind the 2020 murder of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, allegedly because the victim was about to disclose corruption in the agency. Leonardo resigned a week ago from the National Police Commission, where Duterte had appointed him as commissioner. Also resigned from the PNP and now missing is Garma’s former security escort, sergeant Jeremy “Toks” Causapin. Instead of going missing like Toks, it would be better for other police officers to come out and talk about the drug war.