Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. and House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas called for a probe into the Duterte administration’s Oplan Double Barrel and other potential funding for the war on drugs.
In a statement on Monday, October 14, Brosas appealed to the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct a comprehensive audit of the past administration’s Oplan Double Barrel and other funding anomalies, following the recent revelations in the Quad Committee hearing.
Last Friday, former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma revealed in her affidavit that the war on drugs system paralleled Davao’s template on the payment and rewards system. Garma confirmed that the cash rewards per killing ranged from P20,000 to P1 million.
Due to this revelation, Brosas called for a probe into the potential money laundering and other corrupt practices associated with the funding of the war on drugs. Brosas also said that what happened was a misuse of funds.
"These disturbing revelations necessitate a thorough investigation. If the reward system truly reached up to P1 million per killing, the potential misuse of funds could have amounted to billions, turning Oplan Double Barrel into Oplan Pork Barrel," Rep. Arlene Brosas said.
Moreover, she reiterated how thousands of innocent lives were lost due to the rewards system for policemen.
“The Filipino people deserve to know if their taxes were used to incentivize such violence and if illegal financial activities were conducted under the guise of law enforcement,” she stated.
The Gabriela Women's Party-list vowed to continue its efforts in seeking justice for the victims of the drug war, emphasizing how justice has been denied to the victims’ kin for far too long.
“We demand that the truth be uncovered, and those responsible be held accountable,” Brosas ended.
