The Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday that two officers of the Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) have been relieved from their posts due to the re-investigation into the murder of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
In a press briefing at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said that a relief order was issued last week to Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza and Police Colonel Hector Grijaldo.
“Mendoza was relieved and he was put under restrictive custody at the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Crame to ensure his appearance in the investigation that we would undertake,” Fajardo said.
She also said that the order came from PNP chief Rommel Francisco Marbil after he directed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to lead the re-investigation of Barayuga’s killing.
Fajardo said the CIDG would do a backtracking and determine whether there was negligence and cover-up on the part of the police investigators who handled the case.
“Based on the statements of the chief PNP, one thing is clear. As to whom this investigation would point to, he doesn’t care. We will proceed where the evidence will lead us. There would be no sacred cows in this investigation,” Fajardo said.
During last week’s hearing of the House Quad Committee (QuadComm), Mendoza implicated former PCSO general manager Royina Garma in the 2020 assassination of Barayuga in Mandaluyong City.
