The former general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is facing a murder suit over fresh revelations related to the 2020 slay of a fellow official in the state lottery agency.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel told the media September 30 that the House of Representatives Quad Committee was set to recommend to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the filing of charges against Royina Garma following the emergence of testimonial evidences that the former state lottery bigwig ordered the assassination of then PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
There was no immediate reaction from Garma, a retired police lieutenant colonel who was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte to the PCSO helm from 2019 to 2022.
Rep. Pimentel said that Garma orchestrated the murder purportedly because board secretary Barayuga, a retired police general, was poised to expose corrupt practices in PCSO.
The solon described Garma as a “ruthless killer” who hides behind “an innocent facade to commit brutal crimes,” noting her links to the string of killings in Cebu City when she was still its police director. Former Cebu City mayor Tommy Osmeña claimed as many as 198 suspected drug personalities were killed when Garma headed the local police.
Garma is also being investigated by lawmakers for her supposed role in the 2016 triple murder at the Davao Prison and Penal in which three Chinese drug convicts were killed while in detention.
An earlier hearing by the House Quad Committee saw Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza testifying that Garma paid PHP300,000 to get Barayuga’s head in July 2020. Barayuga was then projected as an illegal drug protector.
The murder plot, arranged by Lt. Col. Mendoza, was allegedly hatched with the participation of National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, a former police colonel.
Rep. Pimentel said Leonardo will be included in the forthcoming charge although both Garma and Leonardo flatly denied the accusations by the police officer.
“We killed an innocent person,” quipped Lt. Col. Mendoza in his emotional testimony before the House Quad Committee which has been holding marathon inquiry into: the alleged extra-judicial killings during the anti-drug campaign of former president Duterte, the supposed human rights violations associated with the anti-drug war, the illegal drug trade and its connections to various criminal syndicate, and the proliferation of criminal activities and unlawful acts linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
“It was a solid testimony because it was an admission against self-interest, which the court gives weight to,” said Quad Committee Chairperson Robert Ace Barbers.
Another resource person of the committee, Police Cpl. Nelson Mariano, admitted for his part that he personally recruited the assassin who he identified with his nickname “Toks.”
“And now it is very clear that the mastermind in the killing of Gen. Barayuga is none other than Col. Garma in cooperation, in cahoots, with Col. Leonardo based on the testimony of our two resource persons,” Pimentel said during the Quad Committee session.
Over at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters, its top official said the Barayuga murder case will be re-opened.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will spearhead the re-investigation. “This revelation demands a thorough reinvestigation of the murder. No one is above the law, and we will seek justice for Ret. Gen. Wesley Barayuga and his family with the full resources of the PNP,” Gen. Marbil said in a statement.
The late Barayuga was described by his colleagues as a “very simple man.” He took public transportation in going to work and carried packed food for lunch.
Barayuga was readying a damaging report on PCSO, particularly in the operation of Small Town Lottery (STL), at the time of his murder. His death was a mystery for almost four years.
