Bato asked to explain cops’ ‘allowances’ during drug war

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa—Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

A lawmaker sitting on the House quad committee asked Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Friday to cite the legal basis for the release of additional “allowances” for police officers involved in the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, who chairs the House committee on human rights, one of the four components of the joint panel, said Dela Rosa’s recent disclosure in a media interview about the allowances “raises more questions than answers.”

More so, Abante said, because the funds were coursed through then Special Assistant to the President and now Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, as revealed by Dela Rosa.

An attempt to ‘disguise’

“Was this allowed through a memo from the Philippine National Police? Did this have approval from relevant government agencies, like the Department of Budget and Management? Did it course through Congress?” Abante said. “If the allowances came from intelligence funds, that’s still people’s money.”

Before entering politics, Dela Rosa served as the PNP chief in the early years of the Duterte presidency, becoming the chief enforcer of the antinarcotics crackdown.

Abante said Dela Rosa’s claims that the money given to PNP officers at the time were allowances must be a “desperate attempt to disguise the amounts paid out to police officers.”

They only bolstered suspicions that taxpayer money was used as incentives for the police to kill drug suspects, he said.

“While Senator Dela Rosa’s clarification that the cash disbursements were intended to support police operational needs such as meals and transportation, the Quad Comm stresses that this admission raises critical questions about transparency and accountability,” Abante said.

“Assuming that these are allowances, then Senator Bato needs to answer these questions: Were there safeguards in place to ensure that these allowances were used for legitimate operational needs? How was the distribution of these funds monitored to prevent misuse or the incentivization of violence?” Abante asked.

Dela Rosa spoke about the allowances last week to refute the testimony of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Royina Garma, who said she was tapped to help craft a “rewards system” for the drug war when she was still an active police colonel.

‘Davao model’

Garma said the system was supposed to be patterned after the “Davao model,” referring to the home city of former President Rodrigo Duterte, which he earlier governed as mayor for many years.

According to Garma, the directive to implement the system came straight from Duterte.

She also said the cash rewards were funneled through the country’s banking system and involved persons in Go’s office when he was still Duterte’s special assistant.

Abante said the House quad committee would ask the Anti-Money Laundering Council to confirm Garma’s testimony, including her mention of a certain Peter Parungo who allegedly processed the rewards through his accounts in Metrobank, Banco de Oro and Philippine Savings Bank.