Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido revealed on Wednesday that during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, police officers were offered rewards for killing individuals involved in drug-related activities.
During a quad-committee hearing, Espenido, the first witness to testify on the Duterte administration's extrajudicial killings, said former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa assigned him to lead the Albuera Police in Leyte to dismantle the group of a drug lord named Kerwin Espinosa.
Espenido stated that the order included the "neutralization or elimination of the target," which meant the operatives executing the warrant of arrest had discretion.
When asked if this included killing the target, he responded, "Yes."
"Ang qouta bawat araw dapat ang pulis may ma-tokhang yung 'knock and plead'. Puntahan yung mga nasa list para pa-surrenderin sa police station para sila marehab or voluntarily," said Espenido.
"Ang reward naman it's very obvious from my assignment na lahat ng mga operation through buy-bust operation, search warrant, implementation, may reward system yung mga local official," he added.
Espenido cited an example where the Ozamiz Mayor rewarded their office with 100,000 pesos for each successful buy-bust operation, totaling 600,000 pesos in rewards.
"Yung quota and reward system, alam ng lahat ng mga pulis 'yan your honor na patayin, may reward. Kung mamatay yung nasa watchlist may reward system yun ang ibigay maski may kasalanan 'yon o wala, totoong nabuy-bust o wala," he explained.
Espenido said he was initially impressed by the war against illegal drugs under the former President's administration as it seemed practical, but he was later disappointed as only the victims were killed.
"Sa akin, I conclude na kawawa iyong mga naging biktima lang para lang makatanggap ng reward. Nag-abuso iyong mga nasa paligid ni President Duterte. Nagtake-advantage because of money, kaya kahit maski sino na lang ang trabahuhin," he stated.
According to Human Rights Watch, over 12,000 Filipinos died during Duterte's war on drugs, mostly from urban poor communities.
At least 2,555 of the killings have been reportedly attributed to the PNP.
