Former police colonel and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma has returned to the Philippines from Los Angeles, California, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed on Saturday, September 6.

The BI said Garma arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and underwent standard immigration processing. She left the country in November 2024 but was intercepted upon arrival in San Francisco due to cancelled visas.

Her request for asylum in the United States was denied, and she was later detained at a U.S. immigration facility under an expedited removal order.

Garma, a known Duterte ally turned whistleblower, made headlines in 2024 when she testified before a House quad committee that the drug wardrug war followed a “Davao template,” where police officers were rewarded for killings.

She also confirmed the existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad, long suspected of carrying out extrajudicial killings during Duterte's regime.

Garma is facing murder and frustrated murder complaints over the 2019 killing of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, though no arrest warrants have been issued.

Duterte, now detained in The Hague facing crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC), has denied Garma’s allegations.