BuCor exec admits to pressure, feared retaliation in 2016 Davao jail slays

MANILA, Philippines — Corrections S/Supt. Gerardo Padilla admitted to being under pressure when he was directed not to interfere in the killing of three Chinese nationals in the Davao Penal and Prison Farm in August 2016, adding that he feared retaliation from powerful people.

At the House of Representatives quad-committee hearing on Wednesday, Padilla was asked by the committee on human rights chairperson and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. if he was under pressure from former police colonel Royina Garma or another “bigger man” behind the official.

Earlier, Padilla admitted that Garma called him to warn against interfering with the killing of three Chinese in the Davao prison facility, contradicting his prior testimony before the same committee.

“You said that you experienced intense pressure, does that intense pressure mean that you were afraid of what she said?  Did you have that intense pressure from what she said, or from the knowledge that there is somebody behind what Garma said and that person is a higher official?” Abante asked.

“You were not afraid of what Chief Garma eh, you were afraid because you knew that there is a bigger person behind what Chief Garma said,” he added.

“That’s true… Yes po,” Padilla replied.

When Abante pressed the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official if the bigger person was former President Rodrigo Duterte, he refrained from directly implicating the ex-president in the threats against him and the killings of the Chinese nationals.

“When a colleague of ours asked you about the former president, you said that when he was the mayor, Chief Garma was the commander (of the CIDG)?” Abante asked.  “Therefore, the person you are mentioning who is behind this, the big person who is Garma referring to, are you implicating our former president, is that it?”

“I do not implicate him but they (Garma) are under the control of the higher-ups,” Padilla noted.

During the quad-committee hearing last August 22, self-confessed hitman Leopoldo Tan said that he and Fernando Magdadaro were tasked by a certain SPO4 Arthur Narsolis — who Garma supposedly contacted — to kill Chinese nationals Chu Kin Tung, Jackson Lee, and Peter Wang.

The three Chinese were serving prison time at the Davao Penal Farm for drug-related cases.

According to Tan, he heard Padilla talking over the phone to a certain personality who congratulated the BuCor official over the hit.  Tan later identified the personality to be former President Duterte.

READ: Duterte ordered killing of 3 Chinese men in 2016, hitman claims

When Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. asked Padilla if these testimonies from Tan were true, Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez interjected by saying that it may endanger the life of Padilla and his family.

“Now that you are here before members of Congress, in front of many Filipinos watching all over the country, all over the world, I have a question: do you believe what Leopoldo Tan said in number 28, 29, and 30?” Gonzales asked.

“With the indulgence of the Senior Deputy Speaker, I think we’re dealing deeply with this discussion, and I’m just worried about the safety of Supt. Padilla, considering that he is a 64-year-old retiring in a couple of months, and at the same time his family lives in Davao City.  He is asking for an executive session, and he is continually insisting that he be given a chance on an executive session,” Fernandez said.

“We all know that the sensitivity of the issue that we are tackling right now, and it entails the life of the people that love this guy.  Although Mr. Chairman we have seen some inaccuracy on the new affidavit that he submitted to us, nevertheless we cannot counter it with the possible loss of life after he gives a testimony before this chamber, and I think it is incumbent upon all of us to think about the family of Supt. Padilla,” Fernandez added.

Padilla was cited for contempt last August 28 after lawmakers found him lying as he insisted that he was not aware of the order to transfer the Chinese nationals to the same solitary confinement cell where Tan and Magdadaro were placed.

READ: BuCor exec cited for contempt for lying during quad-panel drug probe

When Padilla said the order came from another Davao Penal Farm official, Corrections Sr. Insp. Nonie Forro, lawmakers allowed Forro to explain his side.

According to Forro, he is only the third-in-line in terms of approving prisoner movements.

Forro further said that there was advice from Padilla to transfer the Chinese nationals.