NATIONAL Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina Garma were implicated anew in a different incident on Friday during the seventh hearing of the House Quad Committee
Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, in his sworn statement, identified Garma and Leonardo as the masterminds in the assassination of retired police general and former PCSO Corporate Board Secretary Wesley Barayuga.
“Noong October 2019, nakatanggap ako ng tawag mula kay Police Colonel Edilberto Leonardo na nagpapabatid sa akin na meron siyang espesyal na proyekto na may kinalaman sa isang high-value individual na sangkot sa mga ilegal na aktibidad ng droga,” he said.
Mendoza initially wanted to verify the information due to Barayuga being a government official, but Leonardo assured him the order came from Garma, who had direct knowledge of the “illegal activities.”
He contracted former informant Nelson Mariano, who agreed to participate based on an intelligence report from Leonardo and Garma confirming Barayuga’s alleged involvement in drug activities.
Mendoza also recounted that Leonardo informed him that a certain “Toks” will get in touch with him who will provide additional information on the target.
“Ang nasabing Toks ay bata ni Garma sa CIDG. Matapos makatanggap ng tawag mula kay Toks, sinabi ko sa kanya mag-coordinate siya sa aking middle man na si Mariano na siyang magbibigay ng information sa designated hitman,” Mendoza said.
He also informed the panel that Mariano was able to contact a hitman by the name of “Loloy.”
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Ty Pimentel established the timeline and said Barayuga assumed his position as board secretary on Jan. 24, 2018 until his untimely death on July 30, 2020; while Garma was appointed PCSO General Manager on July 15, 2019 until June 2022.
He added that the pickup truck used by Barayuga when he was murdered was assigned by Garma to easily and properly identify him as the target.
Pimentel urged the quad committee to include a recommendation in their report to file murder charges against Garma and Leonardo for Barayuga’s death.
“I would just like to point out that at the time when Gen. Barayuga was killed, there was an ongoing investigation by NBI regarding the corruption in PCSO most specifically in the operations of STL, small town lottery,” Pimentel said.
Mendoza admitted receiving P300,000 from Garma as a reward for assassinating Barayuga, and confessed that they had killed an innocent man.
The quad committee also cited Leonardo in contempt for consistently denying that a meeting transpired in the CIDG office despite several witnesses including Garma, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Senior Superintendent Gerardo Padilla and former SPO4 Jimmy Fortaleza testifying that the same happened before the three Chinese drug lords were killed inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm.
He will be detained in the House premises until the quad committee finishes its report regarding its investigation.
Also, Police Sergeant Enecito Ubales Jr. was cited in contempt and ordered to be detained for lying about over P50 million in suspicious financial transactions linked to his cousin, Garma.
Ubales will be detained at the Quezon City Jail until the investigation concludes.
The decision was made after Police Captain Delfinito Anuba testified that Ubales converted millions of pesos to dollars for Garma, which were allegedly sent to Garma’s ex-husband, Police Colonel Roland Vilela.
Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo suggested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) take depositions from Mendoza and Marian, to ensure their testimonies can be used in the future, while Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro proposed that the quad committee recommend placing the two new witnesses under the Witness Protection Program (WPP).
Quad Committee lead chairperson Robert Ace Barbers assured the panel is already coordinating closely with the DOJ regarding its findings.
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