An active lieutenant colonel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) alleged that former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Officer (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma ordered the assassination of a fellow PCSO official in 2020.
In a sworn statement, Police Lt. Col. Santi Fuentes Mendoza—a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group—made shocking revelations about Garma during the seventh meeting of the House Quad Committee.
Mendoza accused Garma of ordering the murder of former police general Wesley Barayuga, who was the PCSO board secretary at the time of the killing.
Garma was tagged by at least four Quad Comm resource persons as the individual, who reportedly relayed instructions to execute three suspected Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016, at the onset of the previous administration’s bloody drug war.
The killings also implicated former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who allegedly congratulated Supt. Gerardo Padilla, the former warden of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, through a phone call after self-confessed hitmen Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando Magdadaro murdered three suspected Chinese drug lords Chu Kin Tung, Li Lan Yan and Wong Meng Pin inside the prison.
The killings of the Chinese prisoners, as corroborated by several witnesses, are cited as evidence of the widespread extrajudicial killings (EJK) linked to the controversial anti-drug campaign.
Mendoza’s affidavit details a chain of events that purportedly led to the execution of Barayuga, perpetrated in broad daylight in Mandaluyong City in 2020.
He said the plot began in October 2019, when Police Col. Edilberto Leonardo contacted him about a “special project” involving the elimination of Barayuga, who was allegedly involved in illegal drug activities.
Mendoza said that despite his initial hesitation, he was pressured into agreeing to the plan because the order had come directly from Garma, then PCSO General Manager and a former PNP official.
“Colonel Leonardo said that undertaking this project would dictate the direction of my career as a police officer,” said Mendoza in his sworn statement.
He also noted that Garma had allegedly provided personal knowledge of Barayuga’s supposed illegal activities, making it difficult for him to refuse the assignment.
Further details revealed that the plot to kill Barayuga was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which restricted movement and government operations.
However, the plan resumed in June 2020, when Leonardo followed up with Mendoza, stressing the urgency of the mission.
“After the lockdown measures and restrictions were eased, Colonel Leonardo contacted me again in June 2020 and emphasized the importance of the project, especially since a long time had passed since his initial order,” Mendoza said.
“With his encouragement, I agreed to talk to Nelson Mariano again to find out if he has found someone suitable for the assigned task,” he added.
Mariano is an informant of the PNP who allegedly knows people who can take assassination orders.
According to Mendoza, Mariano was responsible for hiring the hitman, identified only as “Loloy.”
The most damning part of Mendoza’s affidavit accuses Garma of direct involvement in facilitating the assassination.
Mendoza stated that Garma herself provided a photograph of Barayuga during a PCSO meeting to aid the hitmen in identifying the target.
“Colonel Leonardo also said that we will not have any difficulty in conducting the operation because Ma’am Garma has already issued a service vehicle for Wesley Barayuga to use, and gave me the description and plate number of the vehicle,” he said.
“He said that we can shoot Wesley Barayuga after he leaves the building. I forwarded all this information to Nelson Mariano.”
Following the successful assassination of Barayuga, Mendoza alleged that Garma had authorized a payment of P300,000 to the operatives involved in the hit, with the money being distributed by a middleman named “Toks.”
Mendoza claims he received P40,000 as his share of the payment, and further alleged that the operation was conducted under the supervision of both Garma and Leonardo.
The affidavit ends with Mendoza stating that his testimony was given voluntarily, without coercion or payment, and for the purpose of legal proceedings. “I made this narrative to prove the truth of the aforementioned events,” he said.
Garma, who was also present at the hearing, said it was the first time she was implicated in an assassination charge and she found it “shocking.” Leonardo also denied Mendoza’s narrative.
