SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers yesterday said Police Col. Hector Grijaldo, former chief of the Mandaluyong City Police, should be held liable for his involvement in the alleged cover-up in the murder of former Police Gen. Wesley Barayuga in the city last 2020.
The killing of Barayuga, then a PCSO board secretary, was allegedly the brainchild of former Police Colonels Royina Garma, who is a former PCSO official, and Edilberto Leonardo, according to Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza who claimed that Garma ordered Barayuga’s assassination in exchange for P300,000.
The claim which was corroborated by retired Police Cpl. Nelson Mariano, who admitted during one of the hearings of the quad committee that he recruited the hitman, a certain “Loloy.”
The panel’s hearings have revealed that the motive centered around disagreements between Garma – who was known to be close to former President Rodrigo Duterte – and Barayuga in relation to “Peryahan ng Bayan” franchise allocations and the issuance of board certificates for Small Town Lottery (STL) franchises, which he reportedly refused to sign without full board approval.
Barbers said the Mandaluyong City police led by Grijaldo linked Barayuga to the illegal drugs trade in a report, which also made it appear that the killing was work-related and made out of personal grudge to cover-up the real motive.
“Isang malaking tanong kasi na hindi naman niya (Grijaldo) nasagot, kung bakit gumawa siya ng report na si Gen. Barayuga ay involved sa drugs (One huge question which he failed to answer is why he made a report that Gen. Barayuga was involved in drugs),” he said. “So obviously, meron ginawang pagtatakip (there was a cover-up) because during that time, it seems that killing a drug personality was the norm. That is my opinion.”
Grijaldo on Tuesday night was cited in contempt for the second time by the quad panel for refusing to substantiate his allegation that the joint committee had tried to force him to confirm the testimonies of Garma and Leonardo that there was a reward system for cops who killed drug suspects in the war on drugs.
Meanwhile, Barbers said the tri-committee composed of the House Committees on Public Order and Safety, on Public Information, and on Information and Communications Technology, will also start its own investigation next month into the paid vloggers who have allegedly been spreading fake news about quad panels members who are investigating Duterte’s drug war and the POGO issue which involved Chinese syndicates.
“Ang ating layunin ay magkaroon ng displina (Our aim is for them to have discipline),” he said. “That’s why we want to regulate (vlogging).”
Barbers cited the case of members of the mainstream media, which is strictly guided by high ethical standards, especially seeking all sides of a story.
“That is the normal ang logical practice. That’s what you call responsible journalism. I think dapat mayroon din tayong (we should also have) responsible vlogging. Di naman pu-pwede magkalat tayo ng fake news (We can’t spread fake news),” he said.
The veteran lawmaker said there are also reports that certain vloggers are paid by illegal POGOs and foreign drug syndicates to counter the damning findings of the quad committee.