MANILA — A Philippine National Police (PNP) officer, who was involved in operations that targeted “narco-politicians,” confirmed on Wednesday the existence of a “quota” and “reward system” during the harsh anti-drug campaign led by the previous administration.
Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, during the third session of the House quad committee, was asked to elaborate on his statement in his affidavit regarding the implementation of a quota and reward system during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
“Dalawa yun, quota at reward. Ang quota, bawat araw ang pulis mag-tokhang, puntahan at p-surrenderin sa police station [ang users at pushers] para sila ma-rehab,” Espenido explained, noting that officers would conduct “tokhang” operations on 50 to 100 households of suspected drug personalities daily.
Although “tokhang” officially means to “knock and plead,” the PNP has been infamous for turning these operations into violent confrontations.
Espenido also described the reward system, which allegedly involved monetary incentives provided by local government units. These funds were reportedly derived from the proceeds of both legitimate and illegal gambling activities, such as POGOs.
“Ang reward naman, very obvious, lahat ng operation, buy bust, search warrant implementation, may reward system yung local officials. Ang Ozamiz nagbigay si Mayor Parojinog ng P100,000 bawat accomplishment ng buyt-bust, so nakatanggap kami ng P600,000,” he stated.
When pressed for further details on how the quota and reward system were understood and executed by the PNP, Espenido mentioned there was “another side” to it.
“The other quota at saka reward system, alam ng mga pulis lahat yon, na ‘pag patayin, may reward, kung mamatay yung nasa watch list, may reward na ibigay. Maski may kasalanan o wala, may ginawa na totoong binuybust o wala, yun ang pag-intindi ko sa dalawang klase ng reward,” he added.
When questioned by PBA party-list Rep. Migs Nograles on whether this system was applied by all PNP offices nationwide, Espenido responded: “Sa pagkakaalam ko yes, very known naman yon within the PNP.”
Espenido acknowledged that the system had been abused over time.
“Masabi ko na marami ang nasiyahan dahil hinanap na yung source ng drugs. But then very sad to see na ang nangyari yung mga biktima lang ang napatay, yung pushers at users,” Espenido said.
“Kawawa yung mga naging biktima lang para lang makatanggap ng reward. Nag-abuso yung nasa paligid ni Pres. Duterte because of greed and money,” he continued.
Espenido served as the police chief of Albuera when the town’s then-mayor, Rolando Espinosa, a suspected drug dealer, was killed inside his jail cell in 2016 during a police operation to serve a search warrant. Later, in Ozamiz City, a series of anti-drug operations led to the deaths of then Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog and 15 others also linked to illegal drugs.
Former PNP officials have denied the existence of a “quota system.”
Both Duterte and Sen. Bato dela Rosa, the former PNP chief, have been invited to attend the panel hearings, but they have declined to participate.
The House quad committee is currently investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s administration, crimes related to illegal drugs, and issues involving POGOs.