Fernandez: Cop was summoned but wasn’t forced to sign anything

MANILA, Philippines — Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez has clarified that while Police Col. Hector Grijaldo was really summoned to a meeting, the officer was not forced to sign any affidavit that would corroborate the testimonies from retired police colonel Royina Garma.

In a statement on Monday, Fernandez said the active police officer was only called up because Garma—who made several bombshell claims at the House of Representatives’ quad committee hearings—said Grijaldo knew about the rewards system in the drug war.

READ: Leonardo confirms ‘drug war’ rewards

Garma previously said that former president Rodrigo Duterte called her in May 2016 about the creation of a national task force that would implement the Davao template on a national scale. Under this model, Garma said operatives who kill drug suspects would be rewarded, ranging from P20,000 to P1 million.

READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH

Lies

“Lies ’yan. Pinatawag siya [Grijaldo] because the lawyer of Col. Garma told us na may alam siya sa reward system. We never asked him to sign any affidavit,” Fernandez, chairperson of the House committee on public order and safety and quad committee co-chair, said.

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“This is their way to discredit the Quad Committee, but the truth will bail us out. Nothing will prevent us from pursuing justice for all the lives lost,” he added.

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READ: Rewards of up to P1 million led to ‘narco-pol’ slays

According to Fernandez, it was Garma who suggested that Grijaldo might be involved, during a meeting between them and quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

“Prior to the Quad Committee hearing, Col. Garma requested a meeting, so I asked Chair Ace Barbers to join me as a witness,” Fernandez said.

“Major Mola, a friend of Garma, mentioned (that) she was prepared to reveal the truth, but as soon as Col. Grijaldo, supposedly her friend, joined the discussion, everything changed. It’s no wonder Col. Grijaldo became a ‘pain in the neck’ for Col. Garma,” he explained.

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. meanwhile belied Grijaldo’s claims that he was harassed and pressured into corroborating Garma’s claims.

Earlier, as he was questioned by former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa, Grijaldo claimed that a security official asked him to go out of the quad committee’s hearing room to meet Fernandez and Abante.

According to Grijaldo, he felt that both Fernandez and Abante were trying to find out how he can confirm Garma’s testimonies—with the Manila representative supposedly bringing up the possibility of him being a general in the PNP.

But Abante said such claims are not true.

No truth to the accusations

“There is no truth to the accusations that I forced anyone to sign any affidavit in exchange for favors or the possibility of promotions. At the outset, I was hopeful that the Senate hearing on the previous administration’s war on drugs would contribute to efforts to obtain justice for the innocent men, women, and children slain in the conduct of this anti-drug campaign,” Abante said.

“However, it is clear from the conduct of the Senate hearing that a conflict of interest exists and compromises the Senate’s ability to hold fair and impartial proceedings. Senators can either be subjects of the hearing or can be involved in conducting it—they cannot be both,” he added.

According to Abante, he believes the truth will come out eventually.

“In the end, we believe the truth will come out, and those responsible will ultimately be held accountable for these heinous crimes against our people,” he claimed.

Grijaldo said that the incident happened during the quad committee’s October 22 hearing, when Garma testified to the existence of a Davao Death Squad (DDS), a hit squad supposedly created by Duterte when he was Davao City mayor.

According to Garma, the existence of the DDS was common knowledge among police officers.

Prior to that, Garma also testified before the quad committee last October 11 claimed that the Duterte administration adopted a “Davao template” in implementing the drug war on a nationwide scale, where officers involved in the killing drug suspects are rewarded.

Garma said there are three modes of payment or rewards — first, for every suspect killed; second for the planned operations; and third, the refund of operational expenses. Payments, she said, can range from P20,000 to P1 million.

Grijaldo meanwhile was invited to the quad committee hearing as he was the police officer who investigated the killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.

The hit on Barayuga, active Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza said last September 27, was supposedly ordered by retired police colonel Edilberto Leonardo and Garma, who was PCSO general manager during that time.