Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Ace Barbers (File photo)
MANILA – The lead presiding officer of the House of Representatives Quad Committee (Quadcom) on Wednesday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file murder charges against retired police colonels Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo for the 2020 killing of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said the DOJ, who has representatives monitoring the hearings, should interview the Quadcom’s two witnesses in the Sept. 27 committee hearing and assess their testimonies.
He was referring to police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group and Nelson Mariano, a drug informant of Mendoza.
During the seventh hearing of the Quadcom on alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, Mendoza recounted that in October 2019, Leonardo, allegedly upon the request of then-PCSO general manager Garma, asked him to “operate” on a high-value target, later identified as Barayuga.
Garma and Leonardo are Mendoza’s seniors or upperclass at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA).
Mendoza said he obeyed his PNPA seniors’ instruction by asking Mariano to contact a potential hitman, a certain “Loloy.”
He said Leonardo also told him that a trusted aide of Garma, known as “Toks,” would call him for other details.
Mendoza said he referred Toks to Mariano, who testified that the alleged Garma aide gave him information on the movement of Barayuga on the day “Loloy” carried out the assassination not far from the PCSO building in Mandaluyong City.
Mariano said the information supplied by Toks included a picture, apparently taken by Garma, of Barayuga while attending a PCSO meeting on that fateful day in July 2020, and a description of the vehicle Barayuga would use and its plate number.
Mendoza’s drug informant said the real-time information was relayed via mobile phone through Viber.
Barbers, who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the DOJ should already take cognizance of Mendoza’s and Mariano’s testimonies and their affidavits and file murder charges against Garma and Leonardo as soon as possible.
“They do not have to wait for the report of the joint committee, which will include a recommendation to file such charges. The panel will take time to write the report since the inquiry is still ongoing,” he said.
Barbers said the DOJ should also ask Mendoza and Mariano to submit the mobile phone evidence linking Garma and Leonardo to Barayuga’s assassination.
“The exchange of messages via Viber and the supposed photo of Barayuga taken by Garma during their PCSO meeting will strengthen the case against Garma and Leonardo,” he said.
During last Friday’s hearing, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop showed Mariano a copy of a picture of Toks.
The witness confirmed that it was the same person he met and who gave him PHP300,000 as payment for the assassination of Barayuga, who was a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Matikas Class of 1983.
Acop, also a PMA graduate, said the late PCSO board secretary was killed because he opposed Garma’s desire to expand PCSO’s small-town lottery (STL) operations, including the grant of STL franchises to friends of Garma and police officers close to then President Rodrigo Duterte.
“That was the real motive. They just made it appear that Atty. Barayuga was involved in drugs. He was a victim of the war on drugs. He was a simple man. He rode public transportation and brought his ‘baon’ (lunch box) to his office,” he said.
PNP chief: Scrutinize internal processes in Barayuga case
In a separate statement, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil also ordered a comprehensive probe into the internal processes that led to Barayuga’s inclusion in a drug watch list posthumously.
"We are committed to thoroughly investigating the brutal murder of Gen. Barayuga, but equally important is the need to audit our internal mechanisms that may have contributed to this erroneous association," Marbil said.
He also emphasized the urgency of reviewing and refining PNP’s procedures in identifying individuals for crime-related lists, extending beyond drug cases.
The PNP chief also stressed that the inclusion of individuals on any crime-related list should be based on solid evidence and undergo a stringent validation process.
Marbil also said that any flaws in these mechanisms could undermine not only the organization but also the public trust it seeks to uphold.
"Our internal systems must be airtight. We need to ensure that every name on a crime-related list is supported by credible intelligence and goes through a rigorous validation process. This is essential for maintaining the integrity of the PNP and protecting the lives and reputations of those involved," he added. (with Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
