20 crime lords give P50M each to kill-Duterte fund—source

Crime lords are reportedly raising P1 billion as reward for the killing of incoming-president Rodrigo Duterte (inset) and four other officials involved in the anti-drug campaign. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Top drug and crime lords are raising P1 billion for the heads of incoming-President Rodrigo Duterte, his anointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, a senator and another government official.

A source told INQUIRER.net that some 20 crime bosses, mostly drug lords inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), were contributing to the kill-Duterte fund.

According to the source, earlier reports of a P50-million reward on Duterte and incoming PNP chief, Chief Supt. Ronald dela Rosa “are not true but bigger.”

“Not only one person will pay, but people from different organizations,” said the source, who had intimate knowledge of the drug trade.

“There are probably 20” main players, the source added. And each main player pledged P50 million for the pot money, bringing the entire fund to about P1 billion.

Dela Rosa earlier said that drug lords inside NBP offered P10 million for his and Duterte’s heads. But there were no takers so the reward was raised to P50-million.

The reward from the drug lords came after Duterte offered rewards for every drug lord or pusher killed. The President-elect promised P5 million for every dead drug lord, P3 million if arrested alive and P50,000 each from small-time pushers.

Dela Rosa issued a warning to criminals: “We will crush you. We will bury you.”

According to the incoming administration, 75 percent of the illegal drugs sold in the Philippines were made in the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP). This prompted incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre to vow that his war against illegal drugs would start at the NBP.

“Nasisiraan na yung mga tao sa loob. Hindi kasi nila alam kung seseryosohin ni Digong yung sinabi nyang papatayin lahat ng drug lords doon,” the source said.

Not only Duterte

Apart from Duterte and Dela Rosa, also included in the kill-list were former Justice Secretary now Senator Leila de Lima and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ricardo Rainier Cruz III.

De Lima led the first of the series of raids inside Bilibid where authorities discovered some inmates living in “suite-like” kubols with appliances, hot tubs, gadgets and more.

Because of the first raid, 19 high-profile inmates, mostly drug lords, were transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) while Building 14, a highly secured facility inside NBP, was being constructed.

After the construction, the 19 inmates were moved back to the NBP and detained at Building 14, isolated from other inmates.

Cruz, on the other hand, initiated “Oplan Galugad,” a regular raid conducted inside the NBP to seize contraband and prohibited items. More than 30 “galugads” have been conducted. He also ordered the dismantling of kubols that previously housed high-profile inmates.

Last February, Cruz dismantled a two-storey structure occupied by one inmate. It was renovated to house  elderly inmates.

The source said two of the 20 who pledged to the pot are among the “Bilibid 19” currently detained at Building 14, while two others are chemists and Filipinos who belong to the same organization./rga