TACLOBAN CITY – Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has mandated increased security measures for officers involved in the ongoing investigation into the assassination of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marbil, speaking at the turnover of office rites at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 headquarters in San Fernando City, Pampanga, emphasized the protection of Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, who is under restrictive custody after disclosing key details regarding the case. “I already ordered the DPRM (Directorate for Personnel Records and Management) to protect Mendoza. His life is in danger, and he will reveal more information,” Marbil stated.
Mendoza testified at a House of Representatives hearing that he was instructed by former PCSO general manager Royina Garma and retired police colonel and now National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to execute Barayuga. Additionally, Col. Hector Grijaldo, a former Mandaluyong City police chief, has been relieved of duty and placed under restrictive custody due to potential lapses in the investigation of Barayuga’s murder.
Expressing dismay over the case’s progression, Marbil said, “We are not happy because his death became a cold case and why he was included in the drug list when his name was not supposed to be there.” He has vowed to file criminal charges against those implicated in the killing and any subsequent cover-up as he directs the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to spearhead the reinvestigation.
“I don’t want our police to be used in activities like this. All of those who were involved in a possible cover-up will face the court. I want them all to land in jail,” he added.
During the House hearing, Mendoza revealed that Leonardo had tasked him with eliminating Barayuga, alleging that Barayuga was on a drug watchlist. Mendoza later suggested that Garma might have orchestrated the killing after providing Barayuga with a service vehicle. Barayuga, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1983 and classmate of former Interior secretary and now National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, was fatally shot by a motorcycle-riding gunman while inside his car on Calbayog St. in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City in July 2020.