Retired police colonel Royina Garma has applied for asylum in the United States following her arrest due to a canceled visa, her lawyer confirmed on Monday.
Attorney Emerito Quilang said Garma filed her asylum request in November 2024. While an initial hearing was scheduled for April 2, it was canceled, and no new date has been set due to strict U.S. government procedures.
“We’re asking for a hearing, but the U.S. is very strict. That’s why we don’t have a date yet,” Quilang told reporters at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Garma remains in U.S. detention, and according to Quilang, she will only be released if the asylum request is granted. If denied, she may either return to the Philippines voluntarily or face extradition, depending on the legal process.
Quilang clarified he is not privy to the full details of Garma’s asylum grounds, as another lawyer is handling her case abroad.
Garma left the Philippines after participating in House Quad Committee hearings on the Duterte administration’s controversial drug war. She has been implicated in the killing of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga — a claim she strongly denies.
Garma and former NAPOLCOM commissioner Edilberto Leonardo are facing murder and frustrated murder complaints linked to the Barayuga case. During the inquiry, Garma also alleged that former President Rodrigo Duterte instructed her to implement the “Davao model” of the drug war nationwide — a system she described as involving payments and incentives.
Quilang reiterated that Garma faces no criminal charges in the U.S., and that any response to the Philippine case may be filed via e-filing, as she is currently abroad.