PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has ordered the reopening of the investigation into the July 2020 killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga, a retired police general.

Barayuga was shot dead in Barangay Highway Hills in Mandaluyong City on July 30, 2020 while aboard his vehicle. His driver, Jojo Gunao, was injured in the attack.

Marbil gave the order after police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza implicated National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former PSCO general manager Royina Garma in Barayuga’s murder during the hearing last Friday of the quad committee of the House of Representatives.

Leonardo, a retired police colonel, was named NAPOLCOM commissioner in February 2022 by then President Rodrigo Duterte, just a few months before the latter vacated the presidency. NAPOLCOM commissioners have a fixed six-year term.

Garma, also a retired police colonel, once headed the Davao City police station. She was appointed by Duterte as PSCO general manager in 2019.

During the House quad committee hearing, Mendoza alleged he was instructed by Leonardo and Garma to carry out the murder of Barayuga.

Mendoza claimed Garma allegedly provided intelligence information for the operation, which he said he was told was supposedly involved a high-value target involved in illegal drugs.

“This revelation demands a thorough reinvestigation of the murder. No one is above the law, and we will seek justice for retired general Wesley Barayuga and his family with the full resources of the PNP,” Marbil said in a statement.

Marbil tasked the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to lead the investigation on the murder case, which remains unresolved.

He said the CIDG will reevaluate the evidence related to the Barayuga killing in light of Mendoza’s testimony.

He also said the CIDG will be coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure a thorough, impartial and transparent probe.

“We are committed to uncovering the truth, regardless of the position or power of those involved. The public can rest assured that we will hold those responsible accountable,” Marbil said.

In a separate statement, the PNP Public Information Office (PIO) said the reopening of the investigation on the Barayuga case “marks a significant development in the PNP’s efforts to resolve high-profile cases, especially those involving public officials.”

It said Marbil remains committed to “upholding the law and maintaining the integrity of the police force” and assured that “the investigation will be pursued without fear or favor.”

“The Barayuga murder, which has remained unresolved since 2019, is now under renewed scrutiny. The CIDG’s reinvestigation will revisit previous inquiries and pursue new leads to uncover any additional evidence related to the case,” the PIO said.

‘PERYAHAN NG BAYAN’

During last Friday’s quad committee hearing, former PCSO chair Anselmo Simeon Pinili, a retired general and classmate of Barayuga in the Philippine Military Academy’s Matikas Class of 1983, told lawmakers that he supposedly shared with Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go and former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Jesus Melchor Quitain details of the possible motive for Barayuga’s assassination.

Pinili made the revelation when Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, a former police general, himself and a member of PMA Magiting Class of 1970, pressed him on the internal issues at the PCSO that may have led to the killing of Barayuga.

The interpellation revealed that the motive centered around disagreements between Garma and Barayuga over franchise allocations for “Peryahan ng Bayan” and the issuance of board certificates for Small Town Lottery (STL) franchises, which Barayuga reportedly refused to sign without full board approval.

Barayuga’s death was part of the joint panel’s investigation into the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs, which also targeted political rivals and innocent individuals falsely accused of drug involvement after being deliberately included in the Duterte government’s controversial drug list.

Barayuga’s death was initially linked to his alleged involvement in illegal, drugs but the quad committee’s investigation showed that it was just a smokescreen to hide the true motive for his assassination.

Mendoza said during the hearing that Garma ordered Barayuga’s assassination in exchange for P300,000, a claim corroborated by retired Police Cpl. Nelson Mariano, who admitted to recruiting the hitman, a certain “Loloy.”

Acop, a lawyer who serves as vice chair to all four panels comprising the quad committee, read from a text message that Pinili sent to Barayuga’s widow after the murder, which mentioned a “privileged communication” he had with Go and Quitain.

“Were those information that you shared with Quitain and Sen. Bong Go confidential?” Acop, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, asked. “Hindi na confidential ngayon kasi masu-solve na ‘yung kaso (It’s no longer confidential now because the case will be resolved).”

Pinili, the one who recruited Barayuga to the PCSO, confirmed that he had informed Go and Quitain about the motive: “Yes, Your Honor. I said this because we have also already known the motive. So, I reported this to them.”

“Alam niyo na kung sino ang may kagagawan (You already knew the mastermind). Would that be correct?” Acop asked again, to which Pinili replied: “Yes, Your Honor.”

Acop continued: “Alam ninyo ang totoong nangyari (You knew what really happened) but you never did anything about it. Why? Because of fear, am I correct?” to which Pinili said, “Partly, Your Honor.”

“Partly? And which part is not true? Hindi ka makasagot (You can’t answer). Anyway, bahala ka na sa iyong mga classmates. Dapat nga nagsasabi ka na ng buong katotohanan dito eh dahil maso-solve na yung pagkamatay ng classmate mo (It is up to you to explain to your classmates. You should tell the truth now because this will lead to the resolution of the death of your classmate),” Acop said.

Mendoza claimed that the plot began in October 2019 when Leonardo approached him with a “special project” to eliminate Barayuga and frame him for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

He said that he reluctantly complied, adding that the order came directly from Garma, who was known for her close ties with Duterte and for her alleged links to the Davao Death Squad (DDS).

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel described Garma as a “ruthless killer disguised as a meek lamb” after she was identified as the mastermind behind Barayuga’s murder. He urged the joint committee to recommend the filing of murder charges against Garma and Leonardo in its report.

At least four witnesses earlier testified that Garma was the one who relayed Duterte’s alleged orders to kill three susp ected Chinese drug lords at a Davao prison in 2016.

Duterte was also linked to these killings after he allegedly congratulated then-prison warden Supt. Gerardo Padilla after hitmen Leopoldo “Tata” Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro killed the Chinese inmates — Chu Kin Tung, Li Lan Yan and Wong Meng Pin.

Former Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña has reported to the joint panel that there were at least 198 killings during Garma’s assignment in Cebu from July 2018 to July 2019.

He also cited allegations that Garma received a P1 million weekly bribe while serving as chief of the CIDG in Region 7.

PMA MATIKAS CLASS

In a press statement released by the House, members of the Philippine Military Academy’s Matikas Class of 1983 praised the quad committee for finally identifying the masterminds in the murder of their “mistah” Barayuga.

Retired Air Force Col. Enrique J. Dela Cruz, PMA Class 1983 president, said the lawmakers’ “persistent efforts and incisive line of questioning have given light and hope for the successful resolution of Barayuga’s tragic assassination four years ago.”

“Such service and commitment to deliver justice and righteous acts as you do today give us confidence that our nation is indeed represented by wise, courageous and honorable men. It may not bring our dear Wesley back, but it is reassuring that there are people in government who are doing their best to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Dela Cruz said.

“(And) on behalf of the family of our dear Mistah, we also convey our profound gratitude for the identification of the assailants,” he added.

Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, also thanked the members of the PMA Matikas Class of 1983 “for their full trust and confidence to the solons comprising the Quadcom panel.”

“First of all, I thank the PMA Class 1983 members for their trust and confidence to the Quadcom leaders and members. On behalf of Quadcom, I would like to assure you that we would dig to the bottom of Wesley’s case and ensure that all the people who conspired in his murder are punished under all our applicable laws,” he said.

Barayuga was appointed PCSO board secretary on January 24, 2018 along with Pinili, who was appointed PCSO chairman of board on the same day. Both Barayuga and Pinili served under their PMA classmate Maj. Gen. Alexander Balutan, who was PCSO general manager at that time.

Balutan, who was appointed as PCSO GM on September 13, 2016, was fired by Duterte on March 8, 2019 and was replaced by Garma, who still had 10 years then before her retirement from police service.

At the time of Barayuga’s assassination, his mistah retired Army Gen. Eduardo Año, was the interior secretary.

Of the 198 PMA Class 1983 graduates, 69 were originally assigned to the Philippine Army, 65 to the Philippine Constabulary, 29 to Philippine Navy and 30 to the Philippine Air Force. Six went to various US Service Academies. Four of them became AFP’s chiefs of staff.

On October 7, 2020, members of the PMA Matikas Class of 1983 placed an ad in a major newspaper offering a P1 million reward for anyone who could provide information that could lead to the arrest of those involved in Barayuga’s murder.

COURTESY CALL

Meanwhile, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday slammed Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Stephen Paduano for insisting that he attended the supposed courtesy call on Duterte of the police officers linked to the killing of three Chinese drug lords in 2016.

“It was very clear from the recorded video of that hearing that Cong. Paduano is very excited and very insistent of my alleged presence in that courtesy call despite repeated denials from all resource persons,” Dela Rosa said, as he stressed: “Again, I vehemently deny that I was party to that courtesy call or meeting… The effort to wholesale former President Duterte, Sen. Bong Go and myself in one stroke is very evident in his line of questioning.”

Dela Rosa pointed out that Garma and Leonardo, who were both present during the meeting, have said that they do not recall seeing the senator, who was a former PNP chief before he joined politics, when they met with Duterte.

Dela Rosa has earlier called the ongoing House quad com probe on Duterte’s bloody war on drugs and extrajudicial killings as a “fishing expedition” aimed at discrediting the former president’s allies ahead of the 2025 and 2028 elections.

MISINFORMATION, FAKE NEWS

Rep. Margarita “Atty. Migs” Nograles warned the public against “misinformation and fake news” being peddled by so-called internet “influencers” and buoyed by troll farms all over social media,

Nograles said these troll farms seem to be targeting those who have been questioning the alleged mismanagement of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Vice President Sara Duterte being investigated by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, as well as lawmakers who are helping the quad committee ferret out the truth on the EJKs, the proliferation of Philippine Offshore and Gaming Operators (POGOs), and illegal drug syndicates under the Duterte administration.

“The strategy is to enlist influencers to propagate misinformation and disinformation and have trolls comment that they believe the lies and spread this to gain traction in social media,” said the daughter of the late former speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. of Davao City.

Nograles underscored the importance of distinguishing fact from fiction because “there is a coordinated effort to discredit those who are holding public officials accountable.”

“Huwag po tayong basta maniniwala sa mga nakikita natin online. Dapat natin alamin ang katotohanan at suriin nang mabuti ang mga impormasyon na ating natatanggap (Don’t readily believe what you see online. We should know the truth and be mindful and analytical of all the information we receive),” she said.

Nograles said several lawmakers who have been critical of the OVP and DepEd, as well as those active in the hearings of the quad committee, have also fallen victim to relentless trolling campaigns, including Rep. Raoul Manuel (PL, Kabataan), Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante.

“If there are questions about irregularities and mismanagement of public funds, they should be answered in the proper forum, not on social media. We should not fall prey to propaganda and false information,” she said. – With Wendell Vigilia and Raymond Africa