Arturo Lascañas’ reappearance early this year to once again pin former president Rodrigo Duterte to killings was a sign of what was to come for the once-ruling Duterte family and their allies.
Self-confessed hitman and former Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Lascañas reappeared in the middle of a heated exchange between Marcos and the Dutertes in January, where the former president accused Marcos of being an alleged drug addict. Marcos retaliated. (READ: Ex-Davao hitman Arturo Lascañas resurfaces as Uniteam sinks)
After the bitter exchange and Lascañas’ return to the spotlight, the House or Representatives launched a probe into the drug war and the killings that reached around 30,000, if vigilante killings were to be included. The House probe is years late, considering that the drug war was launched eight years ago. The investigation has also revealed and confirmed what has long been known: the drug war was bloody.
The probe, later upgraded to include Philippine offshore gaming operators and Chinese syndicates, had so far implicated the former president himself, his family, and closest allies in government.
But the most recent inquiries are now leaning toward pinning police officers, whom Lascañas earlier alleged as being former DDS members.
Bato dela Rosa
Leading the pack is Philippine National Police chief-turned-Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Duterte’s first PNP chief. He also served as Davao City police chief before becoming the PNP top brass who led Duterte’s drug war in 2016. Dela Rosa crafted Oplan Tokhang, which was the basis for the anti-drug operations under Duterte.
Lascañas claimed in his affidavit that Dela Rosa was among those who “enabled” Duterte in the context of the alleged killings. As Duterte’s most trusted police chief, Lascañas said Dela Rosa carried out kill orders from Duterte for years in Davao, then at the national level when he became the PNP chief.
In the ongoing probe, no less than former drug war “poster boy” Police Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido implicated Dela Rosa in the drug war killings. Espenido said in his affidavit submitted to the House that he was “personally handpicked” by Dela Rosa to lead the Albuera, Leyte police to disband the group led by alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.
As he pursued Espinosa, Espenido said he would directly report to Dela Rosa and Duterte himself. Espenido said he was later assigned to head the Ozamiz police to “dismantle the Parojinog drug operations by all means necessary” which “in police language…included neutralization or elimination of the target.” The drug war poster boy said “killing” was included in the said order.
Dela Rosa denied Espenido’s claim.
“What’s wrong in neutralizing illegal drugs? You have to neutralize the drug problem, right? Did I order the killing of people? I did not order to kill people,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino, when asked about Espenido’s testimony.
In a previous House hearing, another whistleblower appeared. Former anti-drug cop Eduardo Acierto was invited as a resource person before the House committee on dangerous drugs that was probing into a multi-billion drug haul in Central Luzon. There, he reiterated intelligence information about the alleged links of Michael Yang, Duterte’s former economic adviser, to illegal drugs.
Acierto mentioned anew that Duterte and the PNP ignored his shared intel. The former anti-drug cop, who’s in hiding, also implicated Dela Rosa and said the former PNP chief failed to act on his report. (READ: Ex-cop who exposed Michael Yang’s ‘drug ties’ willing to testify before ICC)
Shortly after the House launched its probe, the panel invited Dela Rosa as resource speaker.
In response, Dela Rosa blasted the lower chamber, saying it had no authority to hold a probe since its goal was not to hold a hearing in aid of legislation, but to hold certain cops liable. Representative Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., the House human rights committee chairperson who led the probe, responded to Dela Rosa and said the House has full authority to probe into the drug war.
Dela Rosa is part of the list of former and present cops “under suspicion,” whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has allegedly reached out to for interview. The ICC is probing into the alleged DDS killings and the drug war.
Edilberto Leonardo
Aside from Dela Rosa, other alleged DDS members were implicated in the House hearing as well. Among them is Edilberto Leonardo, whom Lascañas tagged as an alleged DDS member. No operation that Leonardo supposedly took part in was, however, specified.
Leonardo is a product of the PNP Academy (PNPA) class 1998. During his stint at the police service, he served as the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit in the Davao Region, and then as commander of the Manila Police District (MPD) Moriones Police Station in 2017. Leonardo was assigned in the MPD when “nanlaban” killings were rampant in Metro Manila during Duterte’s drug war.
After he retired from the police service in 2020, Leonardo was appointed undersecretary for protected areas and special concerns at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In February 2022, he was appointed by Duterte as commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), representing the law enforcement sector. He will serve in Napolcom until 2028, as commissioners enjoy six-year terms.
Leonardo was tagged in the current House probe when his name was mentioned by a person deprived of liberty (PDL) in the supposed operation that killed three Chinese drug lords in Davao in 2016.
PDLs Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro claimed that Duterte and other officials, were allegedly involved in the killings of Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping, who were detained at the maximum security facility of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.
Tan mentioned Leonardo in his affidavit as the “boss” of Arthur Narsolis, the cop who visited him in July 2016 to order the killing of Chinese drug lords in exchange for money and freedom. The PDL even mentioned Leonardo as the reason why he accepted the offer.
“I accepted SPO4 Arthur Narsolis’ offer of money and freedom because I believe in the capacity and skills of his boss, Colonel Edilberto Leonardo, that they can grant their promise since they have tight connections with the higher-ups,” Tan said in his affidavit written in Filipino.
Leonardo attended the quad comm’s hearing on August 28 to answer queries from lawmakers and defend himself.
“I don’t know anything about what he’s saying,” the Napolcom commissioner said in Filipino, when asked about his response to Tan’s allegations.
Leonardo said he knows about the PDL’s affidavit and confirmed that Narsolis was indeed a cop who served during his tenure in the Davao Region. Tan, during the August 28 hearing, said Leonardo “knows nothing” since he was in communication with Narsolis, and not with Leonardo himself.
Leonardo is not off the hook yet in the probe, however, since lawmakers said he will be invited to the next hearings for additional queries.
Royina Garma
Not all cops tagged as alleged DDS members were male — there’s Garma, the lone female cop mentioned by Lascañas in his affidavit. Lascañas alleged that Garma told him personally that she handled a group of hitmen, following the instructions of then-mayoral aide and now Senator Bong Go.
The retired police colonel got closer to Duterte in the years 2011 to 2015, when she served as the station commander of two areas in Davao City. When Duterte became president, Garma became chief of the Cebu City police, but remained at odds with then-mayor Tomas Osmeña. Osmeña blamed the increased number of killings in Cebu City on Garma and then-Central Visayas police chief Debold Sinas. (READ: Killings in Cebu rise as mayor, cops feud)
The female police officer retired early to head the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office under the former administration.
In his affidavit, Tan referred to Garma sa one of Narsolis’ “bosses,” even alleging that Narsolis and Garma had a relationship. Tan added that he also heard while in prison that Garma visited Jimmy Fortaleza, former cop and another PDL. Fortaleza was found guilty of arbitrary detention with murder in 2015.
Garma and Fortaleza were classmates in the police academy. Fortaleza submitted an affidavit to the House, where he confirmed that Garma indeed visited him while in prison.
Fortaleza said when Garma visited him, the cop asked him where the Chinese drug lords were detained. When he asked Garma, the female cop said she had an “operation” against the Chinese drug lords. Citing the testimonies, quad committee lead chair and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Ace Barbers said Garma was allegedly instrumental in the planning of the targeted killings.
“These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of abuse that we believe Garma had a direct hand in. The gravity of these allegations cannot be overstated,” Barbers said. “We need her testimony to understand fully how these operations were conducted and to hold accountable all those involved.”
Garma has never appeared in the inquiries, so the House issued a subpoena to compel her to attend the probe. If she fails to appear, the House panel might cite her in contempt, and order her arrest and detention due to her refusal to cooperate.
Rappler has reached out to Garma, but she has yet to respond as of writing.
Dela Rosa, Leonardo, and Garma are only some of those implicated in the Lascañas affidavit and who are now being investigated by the House. The list could grow as the lower chamber continues to dig deeper into the killings. Who’s next? – Rappler.com
*Quotes were translated into English for brevity