Garma reduced to tears under House grilling, then detained

Former police Col. Royina Garma answers questions from lawmakers during the fifth quad-committee hearing held on Thursday, September 12, 2024.  (Photo from the House of Representatives media bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and Police Col. Royina Garma was ordered detained at the House of Representatives on Thursday as lawmakers found her to be evasive when questioned about her dealings with former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Garma was asked to appear before the House quad committee after a former jail warden linked her to the killing of three convicted Chinese drug lords in August 2016, less than two months after Duterte assumed the presidency.

Nothing special

Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Paduano tried to get Garma to admit she was “special” to Duterte, which he said would explain how she got the top PCSO post despite her lack of credentials.

Garma was the Cebu City police director when tapped by Duterte to replace then PCSO chief Alexander Balutan in 2019. She earlier headed the police force in Davao City, Duterte’s hometown.

In response to Paduano, a visibly distressed Garma said she “didn’t feel” like she had a special relationship with the former president.

READ: Garma admits: I can go straight to Duterte through Bong Go

Paduano interpreted this as “lying” and “evading questions,” confronting her further: “Seriously, ma’am? You’re close to the president, or special. There were so many qualified applicants but he chose you.”

“For me, Mr. Chair, I don’t feel close and special … There was a time in my career when he was Davao mayor but I was also put in a floating position,” Garma said.

“So you’re not close, you’re not special to the president?” Paduano continued, raising his voice.

With Garma now in tears, Paduano made a motion “to cite her in contempt because she is evading to answer questions.”

As it was unclear which House rules Garma violated, other lawmakers were initially stunned and laughed when they heard the motion. But only Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante objected, saying she should have a chance to answer questions.

‘Duterte’ phone call

Garma was summoned to Thursday’s hearing after Police Col. Gerardo Padilla, the former warden of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, claimed that she pressured him not to intervene in the plot to kill convicted Chinese drug lords Chu Kin Tung, Li Lang Yang and Wong Meng Pin in 2016.

Garma was also implicated by Arturo Lascañas, a confessed hitman in Duterte’s crackdown on drugs in Davao.

Also on Thursday, Padilla submitted a supplemental affidavit to the committee saying Duterte himself congratulated him in a phone call for the “success” of the murder plot that Garma spoke of.

Authorities reported that the three Chinese convicts were stabbed dead by two Filipino inmates after an argument over a drug deal.