No line budget for incentivized drug war killings – Fernandez

DRUG WAR composite image from Inquirer file photos

MANILA, Philippines — Although Congress allocated funds for the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign, Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez clarified on Sunday that there was never any line budget for incentivized extrajudicial killings (EJKs).

He said this following House Quad Committee hearings where there were testimonies on the alleged covert reward system that incentivized the anti-drug operations.

According to Fernandez, the budgets of the Duterte administration were allocated for “eliminating the illegal drug trade and reducing crime,” so the funds were not “intended for a violent and lawless approach.”

“Let it be clear: Congress provided billions of pesos in resources to combat the scourge of illegal drugs, but at no point did the national budget authorize funds for EJKs,” Fernandez said.

“The goal was to dismantle the drug trade, not to massacre suspected users or pushers, many of whom turned out to be innocent,” he added.

During the previous hearings of the quad panel, retired police colonel Royina Garma alleged that former President Rodrigo Duterte and other high-ranking officials during his administration sanctioned covert operations replicating the Davao City model of EJKs on a national scale.

In her affidavit, Garma disclosed that Duterte allegedly contacted her about the creation of a national task force, and among the key figures in implementing the reported scheme was Colonel Edilberto Leonardo.

Garma said Leonardo purportedly collaborated with Duterte and his aide, now Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, to establish a new task force comprising “liquidators” nationwide.

She also revealed that Leonardo allegedly conducted briefings for all Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officials and even Philippine National Police chiefs. He also had the final authority on who would be on the watchlist.

Fernandez said the House of Representatives “would ensure that future budgets categorically reject any practices that lead to EJKs.”

”There will be no room in future national budgets for this kind of abuse. We will make sure that any funds allocated for law enforcement are used solely for legal and transparent operations that respect human rights,” he added.