Witness protection eyed for Barayuga slay whistleblower.docx

**Witness protection eyed for Barayuga slay whistleblower** ELIGIBLE WITNESSES' Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza (left) and Nelson Mariano testify before the House quad committee on Friday. ---Niño Jesus Orbeta MANILA, Philippines --- The Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into admitting in its...

**Witness protection eyed for Barayuga slay whistleblower** ELIGIBLE WITNESSES' Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza (left) and Nelson Mariano testify before the House quad committee on Friday. ---Niño Jesus Orbeta MANILA, Philippines --- The Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into admitting in its witness protection program (WPP) Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, according to the chair of the House super panel investigating the links of the Pogo (Philippine offshore gaming operators) industry into illegal drugs and other criminal activities. Mendoza, in an earlier hearing by the House quad committee, had tagged two former ranking police officials in the 2020 killing of retired general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga. Quad committee chair Robert Ace Barbers on Monday said Mendoza could be eligible for witness protection as an exception to the ban on public officials being admitted into the program. Apart from uncovering details that had prompted the reopening of the investigation into Barayuga's killing, the super panel had also established that former President Rodrigo Duterte had gathered alumni of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) to discuss a so-called "Davao template," days before assuming the presidency and launching his drug war\ \ In an interview with dzRH on Monday, Barbers said the DOJ was studying Mendoza's confession and sworn statements. "\[Mendoza\] looks eligible for the WPP but there is a prohibition on current government employees. There is an exception that the DOJ is looking into for the admission into the WPP of a government worker, especially a law enforcer whose testimony carries weight and was made in a legislative inquiry," the Surigao del Norte representative said in Filipino. The DOJ was reached for comment to confirm Barbers' remarks but had yet to reply as of this writing. Republic Act No. 6981, or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, provides that a law enforcement officer who may need protection as a witness cannot be admitted to the program, even if immediate family members are eligible. But Section 4 of the law states that "In case of legislative investigations in aid of legislation, a witness, with his express consent, may be admitted into the \[WPP\] upon the recommendation of the legislative committee where his testimony is needed when in its judgment there is pressing necessity therefor: Provided, that such recommendation is approved by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be." **Murder and Plunder in the PCSO**  On July 30, 2020, Wesley Barayuga was driving home from his office in Mandaluyong City when a lone gunman on a motorcycle appeared from behind and pumped several bullets into his head and body. The retired general, also a lawyer, who was the board secretary at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), did not survive. It was over four years later when the truth about the assassination of General Barayuga came to light --- at a congressional hearing. Two men, including a police lieutenant colonel, came forward to admit they were involved in the general's death, but said they were misled to believe that Barayuga was a high-value target in Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. The Eastern Police District and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) investigated the murder of Barayuga, a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1983. They have two theories for the murder --- personal grudge or his work at the PCSO. Surprisingly, his involvement in the illegal drug trade surfaced only a month after he was killed, when the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Barayuga was included in the drug list that month. But, before August 2020, Barayuga was never on Duterte's drug list. The two men --- Lt. Col. Santi Mendoza and Nelson Mariano --- had signed sworn statements and openly told a lower house joint panel that two police colonels with close ties to the former president ordered Barayuga's killing. Then a police major, Mendoza said he got a call from Police Col. Edilberto Leonardo in October 2019 informing him of a special project to neutralize a certain Wesley Barayuga who was supposedly a high-value target in the drug war. In the police hierarchy, Leonardo had no direct role in the drug war and he was no longer in the PNP after he was appointed to a civilian position at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Mendoza was also not assigned to the drug enforcement unit. He used to be head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) drug enforcement unit, but when got the call, he was already assigned to the office of the late PNP chief Camilo Cascolan as a security officer. But who would turn down a "job" assigned by Colonel Leonardo, who was believed to be the closest official to the president? It was common knowledge in the PNP that the former president listened to Colonel Leonardo. According to Antipolo congressman Romeo Acop, a former PNP general, former PNP chief and now senator Ronald de la Rosa, was not comfortable with Leonardo because he knew the police colonel can whisper many things to the leader. Based on Mendoza's testimony, Leonardo told him that the killing was ordered by another police officer, Royina Garma, who was then appointed to PCSO as general manager in 2019. Garma is also close to the former president. In another controversial case, Leonardo and Garma were tagged as the masterminds in the brutal killing of three Chinese drug lords at the Davao Penal Colony in August 2016. Mendoza knew the consequences if he did not carry out the orders of Leonardo and Garma. It could endanger his life and his family's. Mendoza went to work, tasking his reliable informant Nelson Mariano to look for a gunman to carry out the assassination. Mariano found a certain "Loloy." The coronavirus pandemic intervened, making it difficult to put a tail on Barayuga and establish a pattern of his daily travel. What made it more difficult was that Barayuga was taking public transport in reporting for work and returning home. The PCSO general manager, Col. Royina Garma, solved the problem. She acquired a fleet of vehicles for PCSO officials and managers and assigned a white pickup truck to Barayuga. In July, Leonardo contacted Mendoza again and informed him of the planned vehicle assignment to Barayuga. He also coordinated with a certain "Toks," a police officer, in detail with the office of Garma. Mendoza tasked Mariano to see Toks at the PCSO office where the latter gave the vehicle description and plate number. He also provided a photo of Barayuga taken from an online PCSO board meeting. Leonardo's final instruction was to make the hit near Barayuga's office in Mandaluyong City, where Col. Hector Grijaldo, a classmate of Garma at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), was the police chief. After the hit, Mendoza said Garma rewarded them with P300,000. Mariano gave P200,000 to "Loloy" and kept P60,000, and then gave P40,000 to Mendoza. At the same congressional hearing, Leonardo and Garma denied what Leonardo and Mariano narrated to the lawmakers. Garma said he did not know Mendoza and never met him. Leonardo said Mendoza was never assigned as a subordinate to him. However, Mendoza and Mariano's testimonies prompted congressmen to recommend the filing of murder charges against Leonardo and Garma. The lawmakers instructed the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to take a second look at Barayuga's killing. The congressmen believed Barayuga was killed because he was about to expose the corruption inside the PCSO under Gsrma. He was about to give documents to the NBI that was investigating anomalies in the agency. In the same public hearing, Garma had admitted appointing her daughter and relatives to key positions in the PCSO. She also awarded friends, including Leonardo and his classmates, franchises to operate Small Town Lottery (STL) operations in Batangas and Cebu, both lucrative areas. But one surprising revelation also came to light when Garma's classmate and former husband, who was assigned as police attache in the United States, was able to invest in a restaurant in Las Vegas. It appeared that he got some help from the PCSO when some P50 million in two tranches were exchanged to US dollars and sent to him in California. The money was personally handed over by a police corporal, a first cousin of Garma who was also assigned in the PCSO, to a police captain running errands for Garma's ex-husband. The murder and plunder in the PCSO must be investigated deeply because Garma and Leonardo, who was also no longer with the PNP in 2019, were involved in the war on drugs, eliminating those who opposed it and those against their personal interests. Garma and Leonardo had taken advantage of their close relations with former president Duterte to emerge as the most powerful police officials. **PNP to reopen 2020 slay case of PCSO official** MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippine National Police will reopen its investigation into the murder of retired general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga in 2020 as new details came to light implicating high-ranking officials in the killing. PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil issued the statement on Sunday after Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group alleged last week during a House committee investigation on extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration that National Police Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former PCSO General Manager Royina Garma---both retired police colonels---were the brains behind Barayuga's murder. **\ "**This revelation demands a thorough reinvestigation of the murder. No one is above the law, and we will seek justice for retired Gen. Wesley Barayuga and his family with the full resources of the PNP," Marbil said in a statement. The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), under the new leadership of Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III was tasked with leading the full investigation. The CIDG will reevaluate all evidence in light of the new testimony and work closely with other relevant agencies to ensure that the process is thorough, impartial, and transparent," he said. "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 added. On his way home on July 30, 2020, a gunman on a motorcycle shot and killed Barayuga and wounded his driver Jun Gunao in broad daylight in Mandaluyong City. The case remains unsolved. Mendoza told lawmakers on Friday that he was ordered to arrange the assassination of Barayuga, allegedly by Garma and Leonardo for P300,000. Testifying as a surprise witness in the ongoing inquiry by the House quad committee, Mendoza claimed the alleged hit job ordered by Garma was relayed to him by Leonardo. Garma, who had earlier been implicated in the killing of three Chinese drug lords serving time at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, and Leonardo, who was then chief of the CIDG in Davao region, had denied they were involved in the killing of Barayuga. Mendoza said that between October 2019 and July 2020, Leonardo called him up for a "special operation" against Barayuga, who was supposedly tagged as a "high-value" target in the drug war. **\ **In response to a question by Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, Mendoza said that he understood special operation to mean "to kill" and felt coerced to go along with the plot because he knew that the two had the strong backing of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. Both Garma, a former Cebu City police chief, and Leonardo were believed to be close to Duterte, having served in Davao City while he was mayor. They were also implicated as key figures in the Davao Death Squad by confessed hit man Arturo Lascañas in an affidavit submitted to the International Criminal Court **How it happened** Mendoza claimed that he hesitated getting involved in the "project" because the target was a high government official, but was pressured into going along with the plot because Leonardo told him the order came directly from Garma. He said Leonardo gave him P300,000 as payment for the hit job. One of his informants, Nelson Mariano, who found a gunman, said he received P40,000, while Mendoza got P60,000 and the rest of the money went to the hit man they identified only as "Loloy." Mendoza said that Garma's personal driver and bodyguard, identified only as "Toks," was also involved in the plot, providing information about Barayuga's movements on the day of the attack Mendoza alleged that Garma had assigned a PCSO vehicle purportedly for Barayuga's daily use, but it was really intended to make it easier for the hit man to follow him around as the official just commuted to work daily and was around many other people who might get hit if he was shot. Garma and Leonardo denied Mendoza's allegations, saying this was the first time they had met the police officer. **Corruption** A month after Barayuga, a lawyer and a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) "Matikas" Class of 1983, was killed, then National Capital Region Police Office chief, Police Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas claimed that Barayuga was on Duterte's "narcolist." This was refuted by Barayuga's PMA classmates, who include National Security Adviser Eduardo Año. Surigao del Norte Rep. and quad committee lead chairperson Robert Ace Barbers has thanked the PMA Matikas class for their full trust and confidence in the panel's probe. He assured them that the committee would get to the bottom of their mistah's killing. Barayuga's PMA classmates issued a statement on Sunday saying that the inquiry gave them hope that their mistah's murderers, including the mastermind, would finally be brought to justice after four years. Retired Air Force Col. Enrique dela Cruz, PMA 1983 class president, lauded the quad committee's "persistent efforts and incisive line of questioning" which have "given light and hope" for the resolution of Barayuga's