Caramat, police general who allegedly offered to tell on EJKs, present at House probe

Police Major General Romeo Caramat, Jr., who allegedly offered to spill the beans on drug war deaths in exchange of being appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, showed up during a House hearing on Friday.

Caramat was among the resource persons during the first day of the hearing into the alleged links of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to extrajudicial killings (EJKs) committed under the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairperson Ace Barbers earlier said Caramat’s presence in the hearing is expected, alongside the attendance of other high-ranking police officials and officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, among others.

“To date, we are painstakingly putting the pieces together in the hope of giving justice to the victims. We are hopeful that no more injustice of this kind will continue, with the vigilance of our law enforcement teams who have so far hauled in at least P34 billion pesos worth of illegal drugs within the first two years of the Marcos Jr. administration,” Barbers said during his opening speech.

“Aside from the illegal drugs, syndicates are also able to transfer billions worth of money to casinos and POGOs to launder money,” Barbers added.

Prior to the House probe, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa accused the Marcos administration of pressuring Caramat to testify against former President Rodrigo Duterte in connection with drug war deaths.

But according to National Intelligence Coordinating Agency director general Ricardo de Leon and Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, it was Caramat who offered to “tell-all” regarding the drug war deaths in exchange of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. appointing him PNP chief. 

Duterte and other top officials of his administration are already being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his violent drug war that left thousands dead.

Official police records peg the number of drug war fatalities to 6,000, but human rights groups contend that the number could reach as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings.

Duterte, however, has insisted that the Philippines is not under ICC jurisdiction due to Manila's unilateral withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019. —KBK, GMA Integrated News