Drug war whistleblower and retired PLTCOL Royina Garma has flown to Malaysia to meet with officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after agreeing to testify against former President Rodrigo Duterte, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday, September 8.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Garma's departure on Sunday evening. She left for Kuala Lumpur as a tourist in spite of the immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) issued against her in November 2024. However, it was revealed that she has neither a hold departure order (HDO) nor a warrant of arrest.

“She’s just a subject of an ILBO, a lookout bulletin. And given that, and the fact that she was going to Malaysia to meet with the ICC, (that) gave us reason to say, ‘Okay,’” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said during a press briefing on September 8.

“Because if she’s going to be a witness to the ICC, we have said that our work relationship with the ICC involves witness protection—and the best way to protect her is probably for the ICC to meet her abroad, because her life can be in danger in our country,” he explained.

According to former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV, she has agreed to be a witness in Duterte’s ICC case, said Remulla.

“I have been working with Senator Trillanes because we have no agreed, official relationship with the ICC, except for the fact that we protect the witnesses who are here,” Remulla told reporters.

Garma previously sought asylum in the United States, citing threats to her life upon returning to the Philippines, but her application was denied. During a House Quad-Committee hearing in 2024, she alleged Duterte had instituted a cash reward system during his bloody War on Drugs.