Last week’s House Quadcom hearings into illegal offshore gaming operations, illegal drug trade and extrajudicial killings gave the public a picture of how powerful retired police colonel Royina Garma was during the Duterte administration and revealed her alleged involvement in some sordid happenings.
Related to Garma’s activities, the name of Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, more known as Bong Go, was mentioned. The senator, however, will not be summoned because of the practice of parliamentary courtesy.
Information coming out of the Quadcom hearings affirm almost all of the revelations of self-confessed former Duterte Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas in his 186-page affidavit submitted to the International Criminal Court and already reported by media.
To recall, Lascañas said there were three of them, who were Duterte’s trusted insiders in the Davao Death Squad: himself, SPO4 Sonny Buenaventura, and Go who he recalls entered into the picture sometime late 1990s. “Go was the city mayor’s trusted aide, a special assistant.”
“Later on, orders to kill were relayed through Bong Go because he was allowed to organize his own death squad. The operatives in his death squad were Police Captain Royina Garma and Police Captain Edilberto Leonardo. Garma was the station commander of the Santa Ana police station.”
“Garma’s death squad was led by SPO4 Jun Cañete and SPO4 Paguidopon. They also had their own mass grave, in the property of Cañete in Maa, Davao City.”
“The money that Mayor Duterte would give to Bong Go was in the millions of budget every month. Sometimes, Buenaventura and I were tasked to deliver the money to the office of Garma to finance her own death squad.” Note: In 2019, when Duterte was president, he appointed Garma as general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; she was by then elevated as Cebu City police chief after her Davao City assignment.
If what Lascañas attests is true, Garma’s appointment tells us the extent of Duterte’s warped sense of gratitude to his trusted kill lieutenants, rewarding them with government posts even if they are unqualified for the job.
In his affidavit, Lascañas recounted many times about the money rewards for every killing. Usually, Bong Go relayed the money to them. But why was he later given the authority to form his own death squad, apart from having Duterte’s full trust?
“Bong Go developed a very useful strategy for the killings. He was the first to use the personal information data of the targets that he had secured through an arrangement with the Land Transportation Office. Because of it, it was easy for us to find the targets. We had their addresses, their vehicle information.”
“It was because of Bong Go’s ingenuity that he was rewarded with his own death squad. The money for his death squad came from the peace and order fund and intelligence fund of the city of Davao. The other funds came from businessman Sammy Uy and Michael Yang. I knew this because it was I who was ordered by Mayor Duterte, in the presence of Michael Yang, to kidnap Philip Lam who was Yang’s business rival, in the amount of 350,000 Pesos.”
November last year, I personally interviewed Lascañas outside the Philippines. I asked him if he agrees that Bong Go should also be prosecuted in the ICC and why. This was his reply:
“Dapat lang ma prosecute, dahil isa sya sa mga pakana sa madugo na kampanya ni Mayor Duterte against illegal drugs. Dapat managot sya sa daming mga taong namamatay sa Davao City na hindi alam ng mga kaanak, mga mahal sa buhay, kung bakit ito pinatay. Walang nag imbestiga po nito. So dapat lang sya imbestigahin at i-prosecute sa International Criminal Court.”
“Dapat ma prosecute sya kasama si Garma at Leonardo, dahil isa sya sa mga implementors sa drug war ni Mayor Duterte. Ang taong ito ay very dangerous sa kapangyarihan, gamit ang pera ng taong bayan.”
Lascañas cites two instances when Go’s own interests figured in the killings. One was the killing of Christopher Yu.
“Personal na inutusan ni Mayor Duterte si Bong Go sa harap ko, at ako din ang inutusan ni Bong Go, na ipapa-fast track ang pagpatay, pag assassinate kay Mr. Christopher Yu. Ito po si Yu ay hindi drug addict, hindi din drug user. Karibal ito sa negosyo ng stepbrother ni Bong Go. Pinapilit ni Bong Go na i-link at ilagay sa death list ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and pangalan ni Mr. Christopher Yu. Dahil ang kapatid kasi ni Yu na si Ryan Yu ay suspechadong lider ng mga carnapper sa Davao City.”
“So pinilit nya ito at nag-approve si Mayor Duterte. In fact, on the spot binigyan ako ni Bong Go ng 150,000 Pesos at yung LTO personal information data ni Mr. Christopher Yu. Kaya madali naming natunton ang bahay ni Yu at ang plaka ng kanyang sasakyan. In 3-5 days of operation, nabaril si Christopher Yu ng isa sa mga death squad na hawak ko na si PO2 Reynante Medina. Patay si Christopher Yu sa loob ng kanyang sasakyan at nangdoon yata ang kanyang mga anak na sinundo nya sa eskwelahan at that time.”
“At isa pa na inutos ni Bong Go ay patayin si Mr. Odchimar. Hindi rin ito addict at hindi ito drug lord dahil may-ari ito ng isang security agency sa Davao City. Patay si Mr. Odchimar at binaril din ito ni Medina at ako ang kanyang perimeter security back-up at that time.”
“Marami pa ang mga patayan sa Davao City na si Bong Go ang may pakana ginamit ang Land Transportation Office personal information data ng mga target personalities na nasa death list ang kanilang mga pangalan kay Mayor Duterte.”
(VERA Files sent a letter to Sen. Go through his media officer to get his side of the story, Sept. 24. We have not received any response from him as of Sept. 27, 12 noon)
