THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced on Wednesday the surrender of police Lt. Col. Santi Mendoza and former police officer Nelson Mariano who were both implicated in the 2020 murder of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) secretary Wesley Barayuga.
In a press briefing, NBI director Jaime Santiago said the suspects surrendered to the NBI-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (NBI-OTCD) this week.
“When Col. Santi Mendoza learned that there was an arrest warrant, he contacted the NBI-OTCD to surrender. Nelson Mariano surrendered on Sept. 29 and Lt. Col. Santi Mendoza surrendered in Bacolod City on Sept. 30,” he said.
Barayuga and his driver were shot in July 2020 by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Mandaluyong City resulting in the former’s death and the latter sustaining gunshot injuries.
Mendoza and Mariano confessed their involvement in the incident during a Quad Committee hearing in the House of Representatives (HOR) last year.
Among those implicated were former PCSO general manager Royina Garma and National Police Commission (Napolcom) chairman Edilberto Leonardo as the masterminds
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he will discuss the status of Garma with the NBI after she went to Malaysia last month to meet with an International Criminal Court representative to testify against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“It is a complication that is there and known from the very beginning. When they took that witness, they knew that there was a case here… In the investigation, it appears that she is responsible. It is not for me to judge, it is for the courts to judge,” Remulla told justice reporters in Filipino.
The DOJ chief also expressed belief that Garma will return to the country after her asylum request was refused by the United States.
