Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has ordered a tight security protection for the police official who disclosed the details relating to the killing of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
Marbil said Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza is now under restrictive custody after he revealed during a hearing at the House of Representatives that he was ordered by former PCSO general manager Royina Garma and retired police colonel and now National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to kill Barayuga.
“I already ordered the DPRM (Directorate for Personnel Records and Management) to protect Mendoza. His life is in danger, and he will reveal more information,” said Marbil.
In the House hearing, Mendoza said it was Leonardo who tasked him to eliminate Barayuga and told him that the reason was that the latter was in a drug watch list.
He later said that Garma appeared to have set up the killing after Barayuga was provided with a service vehicle.
Marbil said that he was saddened by the revelation of Mendoza, especially that the Barayuga was a former police officer and that there was no pieces of evidence linking him to illegal drugs.
Barayuga was a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1983. One of his classmates is former Interior secretary and now National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
“We are not happy because his death became a cold case and why he was included in the drug list when his name was not supposed to be there,” said Marbil.
Marbil vowed to file criminal charges against those involved in the killing and possible cover up in the investigation.
“We will be filing cases among those people who are involved and those people who tried to cover up on what really happened,” said Marbil.
Aside from Mendoza, a former top cop of Mandaluyong City police force was also relieved and placed under restrictive custody for possible lapses in the conduct of investigation on Barayuga’s killing.