A MANDALUYONG court has issued an arrest warrant for former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina Garma and four others over the 2020 killing of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
Also ordered arrested by the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 279 were resigned National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, Police Lieutenant Santie Fuentes Mendoza, dismissed police officer Nelson Enriquez Mariano, and resigned police personnel Jeremy Zapata Causapin. No bail was recommended.
The order was issued on September 13, 2025.
The said individuals face murder and frustrated murder charges in connection with Barayuga’s killing on July 30, 2020, which also left his driver injured.
In a press conference Monday, September 29, 2025, Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office, confirmed receipt of the arrest warrant against Garma and the four others.
He said PNP acting chief Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez has ordered the implementation of the warrant.
“Ang marching orders ng ating chief PNP, ang sabi niya, justice for all. Meaning, ang kautusan niya po sa CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) at sa lahat ng miyembro ng Philippine National Police: implement all warrants of arrest regardless of the case,” Tuaño said.
He added that Mendoza is currently in floating status under the custody of the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management’s (DPRM) Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU).
Mendoza earlier tagged Garma and Leonardo as the brains behind Barayuga’s killing during a congressional inquiry into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
He said Leonardo contacted him about a “special project involving a high-value individual who is believed to be involved in illegal drugs” during the government’s crackdown on narcotics.
Mendoza said Garma provided intelligence for the operation, while Causapin and Mariano carried out the killing.
On September 6, Garma returned to the Philippines following the reported rejection of her asylum application in the United States.
A day later, she flew to Malaysia for a meeting with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after agreeing to testify for the prosecution against Duterte, who is currently detained in The Hague on crimes against humanity charges before the ICC.
Tuaño said authorities have yet to determine the whereabouts of Garma and the other accused. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)