COPS during the time of the previous administration were too eager to pull the trigger in view of a reward system in place, says Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante.
In a press conference, Abante claimed that former President Rodrigo Duterte was able to sway members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to comply with his “kill, kill, kill” directive by offering cash bounty which according to him were sourced from the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations.
Abante, who heads the House Committee on Human Rights, particularly hinted at the so-called cash rewards which were allegedly given to police operatives forming part of the bloody anti-illegal drugs operations from 2016 until Duterte stepped down from power in 2022.
“There are exchange[s] of money here,” said Abante in reference to the alleged cash incentives given to cops who manage to score kills during the drug war.
Baffled at the huge amount corresponding to each head of the slain drug suspects, he claimed to have initiated his own investigation from where he learned that the reward money came from POGOs.
“There’s a reward system. Ibig sabihin, sa reward system na yan, kapag nakapatay ka ng drug pusher, may reward ka. Nalaman namin na–this is a testimony of one of the policemen that we have, officers–from 20,000 to 60,000 ang binabayad dyan,” Abante said.
Previously, the House Committee on Human Rights sought the presence of the former president to shed light about the extrajudicial killings (EJK) committed during his six-year term.
It was also during the hearings called for by the human rights committee that detailed reports were presented. In one report covering July 2016 to November the following year, 20,322 were killed in separate illegal drug operations.
The House of Representatives has recently formed a quad committee composed of Human Rights, on Public Order and Safety, on Dangerous Drugs, and Public Accounts panels – to undertake a joint probe on “interconnected issues” of POGO, illegal drugs, and EJKs under Duterte’s drug war. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
