‘Garma, Leonardo ordered me to kill a PCSO exec’ – anti-drug cop

Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza claims that he was ordered to kill PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in the guise of an anti-drug operation against a high-value target

MANILA, Philippines – A member of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PNP PDEG) alleged that National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and retired police colonel Royina Garma are behind the killing of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2019.

At the House quad committee hearing on Friday, September 27, Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza claimed that he got a call from Leonardo who told him about an operation against a high-value individual allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade. Mendoza said he hesitated at first but he was told that the intelligence information came from Garma so it needed no verification.

“Sa kabila ng aking pag-a-alinlangan na tanggapin ang utos na ito sa kadahilanang isang opisyal ng government ang aming target, ako ay napilitan na lang na sumang-ayon at sumunod dahil ang utos ay mula sa isang nakatataas na opisyal at upperclassman ko na si (Police Colonel) Leonardo, at ang utos ay galing same sa isang opisyal ng cabinet na si Ma’am Royina Garma“Mendoza said in his affidavit seen by Rappler.

(Dismiss my qualifications to accept the order because the target was a government official, I was forced to agree and follow because the order came from a high-ranking official and my upperclassman, Police Colonel Leonardo, and the order came from a member of the cabinet, Ma’am Royina Garma.)

When asked why he was crying while reading his affidavit before statements, Mendoza said, “Kasi po pumatay kami ng inosente (Because we killed an innocent person).”

Mendoza said he recruited former police officer Nelson Mariano because of his experience in similar operations. The anti-drug cop said Mariano was his former informant on operations related to drug personalities. Later, they found their hitman named “Loloy.”

“Sinabi rin ni Colonel Leonardo na hindi na kami mahihirapan sa pagsasagawa ng operasyon dahil nag-isyu na si Ma’am Garma ng isang service vehicle para gamitin ni Wesley Barayuga, at binigay sa akin ang deskripsyon at plate number ng sasakyan. Sinabi niya na maaari na naming tirahin si Wesley Barayuga pagkatapos niyang lumabas sa gusali. Ipinasa ko ang lahat ng impormasyong ito kay Nelson Mariano,” the affidavit read.

(Colonel Leonardo also told me that we will not have a hard time executing the operation because Ma’am Garma already issued a service vehicle for Wesley Barayuga, and the vehicle’s description and plate number were given to me. He told me that we can target Wesley Barayuga after he left the building I gave all this information to Nelson Mariano.)

Mendoza added in his affidavit that after the operation, Leonardo allegedly told him that Garma gave P300,000 as a payment for the operation. The money was turned over by a certain “Toks” to Mariano, and then Mariano later gave P40,000 to Mendoza for his share.

Barayuga, a former police general, was killed on July 30, 2020, while aboard a vehicle along Malinao Street in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City. Barayuga’s driver, Jojo Gunao, was injured in the ambush, while the PCSO official died on the spot.

During the quad committee hearing, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Representative Johnny Pimentel said Barayuga was killed in the middle of a probe into alleged corruption inside the PCSO. He added that prior to the ambush, Barayuga had said that he was ready to testify in the probe.

Garma was the PCSO general manager when Barayuga was killed.

Garma and Leonardo are at the center of the House probe into extrajudicial killings, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, and Philippine offshore gaming operators. The two, allegedly former members of the Davao Death Squad, were also tagged in the killing of three Chinese drug lords in Davao in 2016. – Rappler.com