Former police official Royina Garma and her daughter, Angelica Garma Vilela, have been detained in San Francisco, California
Garma left the country for Washington, D.C., on November 7.
Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Mico Clavano on Tuesday said in a statement that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirmed the arrest of the former police colonel, who was with her daughter at the time.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado to facilitate Garma’s return to the Philippines.
“It is fervently hoped that despite the lifting of her contempt order by Congress and due to the pending investigations on the matters arising from the congressional hearings, she will still be willing to cooperate and collaborate with the Philippine government,” Clavano said.
Garma had been under scrutiny by the House Quad Committee for her ties to former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Davao Death Squad, and her involvement in the killing of three Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm.
Garma made headlines when she claimed that the former president asked her to “look for an officer” to apply the Davao drug war model on a national level. She described the Davao model as a “system involving payments and rewards.”
Garma, who was former general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), denied accusations by the House panel that she ordered the murder of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayunga in 2020.
In September, the House panel cited her for contempt for lying and evading questions. She was released from the House detention facility on November 4.