September 5, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — A 64-year-old warden of the Davao penal colony who is set to retire in November virtually tagged former president Rodrigo Duterte as the mastermind in the alleged killing of three convicted Chinese drug traffickers in August 2016.
Rep. Jefferson Khonghun of Zambales’ First District managed to extract crucial information from Supt. Gerardo Padilla when asked whether it was possible that Duterte directed former police Lt. Col. Royina Garma to deal with the warden.
“Perhaps it is, your honor, because Duterte was elected mayor of Davao City back then and Garma was the deputy CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) and station commander of a police precinct in the city,” Padilla replied to the lawmaker.
He also confirmed that Garma was the same official Duterte appointed as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office chairperson.
“Did Garma mean that they will be killing somebody?” Khonghun asked the warden, which the latter affirmed.
The context was the phone conversation Garma had with Padilla, in connection with the plan to kill the Chinese drug lords in 2016.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, chairman of the House committee on human rights, also pressed Padilla if he acknowledges that a “bigger person” was behind Garma’s instructions.
“I am not implicating Garma, but she is handled by her superior,” Padilla said. He then tagged Duterte when Abante asked who was the “superior.”
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