SolGen Guevarra on drug war 'rewards': There were rumors but no witnesses

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said there were rumors about the supposed reward system for slain drug suspects during the previous administration but no witnesses came forward to confirm it.

"May mga sabi-sabi lang about it, pero walang actual na testigo who came forward para sabihin na meron talagang ganyang sistema na initiated by, you know, people sa taas kaya masasabing may scheme talaga," Guevarra said in a Balitanghali interview.

(There were rumors about it, but there was no actual witness who came forward to say that there was indeed such a system initiated by, you know, people at the top, so it can be said that it was a scheme.)

Guevarra served as the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The reward system was bared during a House Quad Committee (QuadComm) hearing by former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma.

A retired police colonel, Garma testified that Duterte asked her to look for a police officer who could implement the "Davao model" of the drug war on a national scale. The Davao model, she said, referred to a “system involving payments and rewards.”

Meanwhile, Guevarra said the DOJ under his leadership also conducted an investigation into the drug war but it was cut short during the change of leadership from Duterte to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"Inaasahan namin na ang DOJ at ang iba pang law enforcement agencies ay ipagpapatuloy 'yung aming imbestigasyon nung ako ay Justice secretary at mas madali na ngayon ang kanilang gagawing investigation dahil ang QuadComm ay nakakakalap na ng bagong ebidensya na hindi lumilitaw nung nakaraang administrasyon," he said. 

(We hope that the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies will continue our investigation when I was Justice secretary, as it is now easier for them because QuadComm has gathered new evidence that didn't come out during the previous administration.)

QuadComm hearing enough

Guevarra said he believes that the QuadComm hearings were sufficient reason for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cease its investigation into the Duterte administration's drug war.

"Unang-una hindi na talaga pwedeng mag exercise ng jurisdiction ang ICC over us," he said.

(Firstly, the ICC can no longer exercise jurisdiction over us.)

The Philippines, under Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after the tribunal began a probe into his drug war.

Amid calls to return to the tribunal following Garma’s testimony, Malacañang recently said the Philippines would maintain its position and not rejoin the ICC. 

Guevarra also welcomed the QuadComm probe, calling it a “very good thing.”

"They're doing precisely what the ICC prosecutor intended to do kung sila ay mag co-conduct ng investigation dito (if they will conduct an investigation here)," he said.

"So it's a very positive thing na 'yang legislative inquiry… ay nauwi, more or less lumalim ang kanilang investigation kaya 'yung mga bagay na nangyari noong so-called drug war ay ngayon ay unti-unting lumalabas,” he added.

(It's a very positive thing that the legislative inquiry... led to, more or less, a deeper investigation, so the things that happened during the so-called drug war are now slowly coming to light.)

Guevarra said it is very likely that the ICC is monitoring the hearings.

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration's anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say that the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related killings. —KBK, GMA Integrated News