Before officially concluding its investigation in the 19th Congress, the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing on Monday, June 9 provided the public its last update on one of its more memorable witnesses--Royina Garma.

Garma--a former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and retired police colonel--remains in detention at a United States (US) immigration facility following an expedited removal order issued upon her arrival in San Francisco late last year, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official told the mega-panel.

“This is confirmed based on the latest information from our Philippine Consulate General in Houston,” DFA Passport Division Assistant Director Charlie Florian Prenicolas said.

“Ms. Garma remains in detention at the South Louisiana Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center because detainees are unable to receive calls per US regulations,” Prenicolas added.

Monday was the 15th and final hearing of Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers-led joint panel in the current 19th Congress.

The DFA official told the quad-comm that the Philippine consulate had already reached out to US authorities on Garma’s behalf.

“Our consulate in Houston has provided its contact information to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) with the request that this be conveyed to Ms. Garma. The consulate was given the assurance that the contact information of the consulate had been relayed to Ms. Garma,” Prenicolas said.

“And the consulate also has not been contacted yet by Ms. Garma as of today. Mr. Chair, I was in coordination with our consul in Houston and this is the latest information,” he said.

When asked about the basis of Garma’s detention, Prenicolas replied: “According to the reports from the Philippine Consulate and based on the information gathered from our consulate, Mr. Chair, Ms. Garma was issued an expedited removal order upon her arrival in San Francisco which is currently under appeal din po.”

He said Garma was scheduled to appear in court last December 2024 in Louisiana. "She remains detained at that processing center. That was the only information from our Philippine Consulate.”

Garma--in an Oct. 11 hearing of the House quad-comm--had accused former president Rodrigo Duterte of spearheading in 2016 a cash reward-driven system that allegedly encouraged police officers to kill drug suspects.

This was easily the biggest revelation in the course of the quad-comm hearings. Ex-president Duterte is currently being held and tried for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands.

Garma and Duterte's alleged romantic relationship was also a major talking point in the course of the hearings.

Source: Manila Bulletin.