POLICE Col. Hector Grijado has challenged before the Court of Appeals (CA) his continued detention at the Quezon City Police Station 6 on orders of the quad committee of the House of Representatives.
In an urgent petition for habeas corpus filed on May 23, Grijaldo, through the Co & De Guzman Law Offices, sought his freedom, saying his continued detention has no constitutional or legal basis.
Grijaldo has been in detention since December 2024 after the House quad committee cited him in contempt due to his failure to attend its hearings.
From the House detention facility, he said he was transferred to the QCPD Station 6 detention cell in January 2025.
Grijaldo, who was the former chief of the Mandaluyong City police station, was transferred to the QC police detention facility after he was cited in contempt for a second time after he refused to answer questions regarding his allegation that two lawmakers supposedly pressured him to support claims of a cash reward system during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs that was disclosed by former police colonel and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma.
In his petition, the police official said he remained detained without charge, trial or due process, and that his detention has transitioned from a coercive measure intended to compel testimony to a punitive one.
“Such detention is inherently punitive, retributive, and unconstitutional, necessitating immediate cessation,” he said.
He added his continued detention no longer serves any legislative purpose as the quad panel has not scheduled further hearings.
“In effect, his continued detention no longer serves any legitimate legislative function but instead operates as a punitive measure akin to the criminal penalty of arresto mayor despite the absence of any criminal conviction and must therefore be terminated immediately,” Grijaldo’s petition said.
“As such, the detention is no longer a legitimate exercise of Congress’ contempt powers, and is instead a violation of PCol. Grijaldo’s fundamental rights under the Philippine Constitution,” it also said.
Grijaldo said that since his January transfer to QCPD Station 6, he has not received adequate medical care, food, and basic sustenance from the House joint panel.
His situation, he added, has been further worsened with the move of the PNP to place him on leave without pay since December 13, 2024.
Grijaldo was the Mandaluyong police chief when former PCSO board secretary, retired police general Wesley Barayuga, was killed by a motorcycle-riding gunman in 2020.
He is the classmate of Garma in the Philippine National Police Academy.
During the hearings of the quad committee, police officer Santie Mendoza pointed to Garma and former Napolcom commissioner Edilberto Leonardo as the masterminds in the killing of Barayuga.
