Former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted to the existence of a cash reward scheme for police during his administration’s war on drugs, clarifying that this did not directly incentivize the killing of alleged drug offenders. The revelation came during his appearance before the House quad committee on Wednesday, where he acknowledged, “Reward? Correct, very correct, talagang totoo at minsan bigyan ko pa ng dagdag.”
Duterte’s statement marked a departure from previous denials by him and his aides, even after former police officers confirmed the scheme. He detailed that the reward was given to officers regardless of whether the suspect was arrested or killed, as long as the case was resolved. “You have to provide funds,” he explained, particularly for out-of-town operations, mentioning expenses like fuel and food.
He added that if funds remained after an operation, these were often shared among team members, referring to the excess as “for the boys.” Duterte revealed that a certain “Muking,” who managed these funds, was an employee of the Presidential Management Staff.
The former president also addressed the source of the money, stating it came from the “peace and order funds of the government” and clarified that such funds were available at various government levels. When pressed by Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel on whether these funds included confidential and intelligence allocations, Duterte emphasized their discretionary nature. “Confidential nga eh,” he said, defending their use as necessary for protecting national interests.
Manuel pointed out the relevance of transparency, citing regulations on confidential funds, to which Duterte responded that specific reports would only be provided to the Commission on Audit, asserting, “You are asking as if you’re from the COA… COA, kailangan mo ng report, so you have to bring the papers.”
