THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma left the country for Malaysia on Sunday evening.
Garma, a retired police colonel and the whistleblower on the reward scheme for drug war killings, arrived in Manila the day before, Saturday, after a failed asylum bid in the United States.
“She left as a tourist for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3,” the BI said in a brief statement.
“She boarded the flight that left at about 10:43 PM,” it added.
Garma has been the subject of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) dated Nov. 15, 2024 for being a person of interest in a case in 2020 and another in 2016.
“The BI followed the procedure set in the ILBO and reported the matter to the Department of Justice. Upon verification, there was no hold departure order or warrant of arrest issued against her,” the agency said.
An ILBO does not prevent an individual from leaving the country. It only mandates the BI to inform authorities about the travel information of any person who is the subject of such travel watch order, such as the country of destination and purpose of the travel.
Only a preventive hold departure order (PHDO) issued by a court can prevent an individual from leaving the country.
Garma has been tagged as the alleged mastermind in the 2020 killing of former PCSO board secretary and retired police general Wesley Barayuga.
Garma flew to the US in November last year after confirming the existence of death squads and a reward system in the drug war campaign of the Duterte administration.
She was detained by US authorities upon arrival in San Francisco, California and held in a detention facility operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Lousiana before she was deported to Manila.
