Police Lt. Col. Santie Fuentes Mendoza (left), Royina Garma (Speaker’s office)

"Pumatay kami ng inosente (We killed an innocent person)." 

An emotional Police Lt. Col. Santie Fuentes Mendoza made this admission on Friday, Sept. 27, as he tagged former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Officer (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma as the mastermind in the assassination of fellow lotto official Wesley Barayuga in 2020. 

Barayuga, the "innocent person" referred to by Mendoza, was a PCSO board secretary and retired police general. 

In a sworn statement that he read during the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing, Mendoza–an active member of the Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG)--also implicated Police Col. Edilberto Leonardo in the killing of Barayuga. 

Alluding to Garma and Leonardo who were both present at the hearing, Mendoza said: "Hindi ko maiwasang umiyak kasi tinuring ko silang mga upperclass tapos ang taas ng tingin ko sa kanila, eh binigyan ako ng trabaho na masakit sa dibdib eh...binigyan ako ng trabaho na ikakasira ng buhay ko." 

(I couldn't avoid crying because I treated them as my upperclass, I looked up to them, and yet they gave me a job that's difficult to bear...they gave me a job that can ruin my life.) 

Mendoza told the quad-comm that he was forced to take the job out of fear for his life and that if his loved ones. This was because both Garma and Leonardo had the ear of former president Rodrigo Duterte, he said. 

Mendoza's affidavit details the chain of events that purportedly led to the execution of Barayuga, which was perpetrated in broad daylight on July 30, 2020 in Mandaluyong City. 

He said the plot began in October 2019, when Leonardo contacted him about a "special project" or operation involving "high-value target" Barayuga, who was allegedly involved in illegal drugs. 

Asked by Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel about his appreciation of the word "operation" as mentioned by Leonardo, Mendoza answered, "at that time it was the war on drugs, so it was a liquidation". 

The DEG official said he was told by Leonardo that the order had come directly from Garma, then-PCSO general manager and herself a former police colonel. He claimed that Garma provided personal knowledge of Barayuga's supposed illegal activities, thus making it difficult for him to refuse the assignment.

Mendoza points to Leonardo during Friday's quad-comm hearing. 
 

Mendoza said the Covid-19 pandemic-triggered lockdowns delayed the operation against Barayuga. But Leonardo called him again in June 2020 to stress the urgency of the mission. 

Mendoza then contacted an old informant in Nelson Mariano, who managed to recruit a gunman, identified only as "Loloy". Mariano accompanied Mendoza to the hearing. 

Garma issued service vehicle 

The most damning part of Mendoza's affidavit accuses Garma of direct involvement in facilitating the assassination; he said Garma herself sent a photograph of Barayuga during a PCSO meeting to aid the hitman in identifying the target. 

“Sinabi niya na maaari na naming tirahin si Wesley Barayuga pagkatapos niyang lumabas sa gusali. Ipinasa ko ang lahat ng impormasyong ito kay Nelson Mariano,” the DEG official said. 

(She said that we can carry out the hit on Wesley Barayuga after he leave the building. I passed on all of these information to Nelson Mariano.)

He said that it was Garma herself who issued Barayuga his service vehicle--a white pick-up truck-- that day. "Binigay sa akin ang deskripsyon at plate number ng sasakyan (The description of the vehicle and plate number was given to me)." 

It was established that normally, Barayuga would use public transportation to move around.

After the successful operation, Mendoza claimed that Leonardo told him that Garma gave P300,000 as "payment for the job". He said the money was given by a certain "Toks" to Mariano, who served as his middleman. 

“At nang magkita kami ni Nelson, ay inabot niya sa akin ang halagang P40,000 bilang aking bahagi sa kabayaran,” Mendoza said. 

(And when I met with Nelson, he gave me P40,000 as my share of the payment.) 

Mendoza later told ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro in her interpellation that he decided to come out "because of his conscience".

Denials

As expected, Garma denied Mendoza's allegations. "This is the first time...iniisip kung saan ba...I cannot recall if I've met him or what, ngayon ko lang po narinig din ang name niya, Mr. Chair," she said. 

On the claim that Leonardo called Mendoza on her behalf to offer the job, Garma said, "Hindi ko po alam yung sinasabi po niya (I don't know what he's talking about), I cannot speculate Mr. Chair."

She claimed that she and Barayuga got along well during their time together at PCSO. 

Leonardo, for his part, acknowledged Mendoza as being his underclassman, but denied ever ordering him to do anything.

"Nagulat nga rin po ako, Mr. Chair at lagi na lang po akong nasasali sa mga ganito (I was also surprised, Mr. Chair that I'm always linked to incidents like these)...I vehemently deny the allegations."

True motive? 

Pimentel shared to the mega-panel information that for him pinpoints the true motive of the assassination. 

"Mr. Chair, I would just like to point out that at the time that General Barayuga was killed, there was an ongoing investigation by NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) regarding corruption in PCSO, most specifically in the operations of STL--small town lottery," he said. 

"According to NBI officer-in-change Eric Distor, he (Barayuga) was prepared with all the documents and in fact he was prepared to testify against the corruption and illegal practices in PCSO...The motive of the killing of General Barayuga was to stop [him] from testifying against Col. Garma. Yun po ang totoong nangyari (That's what really happened), Mr. Chair," noted Pimentel. 

'A woman disguised as a meek lamb' 

The solon from Surigao del Sur highlighted that Garma had previously been implicated as directing the killing of three Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in August 2016. He didn't hold back on his opinion of the ex-PCSO official. 

"Mr. Chair, Col. Royina Garma has been involved in the different killings all over the country...Ngayon po, klarong-klaro po na ang mastermind ng pagpatay kay General Barayuga, walang iba po kung hindi po si Col. Garma, in cooperation, in cahoots with Col. Leonardo," he said. 

(Now, it's very clear that the mastermind in the killing of General Barayuga is none other than Col. Garma, in cooperation, in cahoots with Col. Leonardo.) 

Pimentel further said: "Col. Garma is a woman disguised as a meek lamb; but deep inside her, she is a ruthless killer, killing without mercy innocent people, killing without remorse innocent victims, especially in the war or drugs."

Bring back death penalty 

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the overall chairman of the quad-comm, is calling for the revival of the death penalty for heinous crimes, alongside the passage of key legislative reforms aimed at dismantling criminal syndicates, holding corrupt officials accountable, and restoring peace and order in the country. 

Barbers, in his opening speech at the hearing, underscored the need to bring back capital punishment as a deterrent to heinous crimes, including drug trafficking and extrajudicial killings (EJKs). 

“Naging urong-sulong po tayo sa usaping death penalty noong mga nakalipas na panahon. Tingnan nyo ang nangyari. Sumama po lalo ang naging lagay ng ating kapayapaan at kaayusan. Hindi na takot ang mga kriminal. Lantaran ang ginawang pamamaslang na ngayon ay tinawag nating [EJKs]” he said. 

(We were back-and-forth on the topic of death penalty in the past. Look at what happened. Our peace and order situation further suffered. Criminals fear nothing. EJKs have become blatant and commonplace.) 

In its investigation into drug-related EJKs under the previous Duterte administration, the quad-comm exposed law enforcement officers serving as "hired killers" who carrying out executions based solely on suspicions of drug involvement. 

Barbers noted that these killings were driven by financial incentives, with officers receiving rewards for each death, as long as the victim was labeled a "drug personality". 

The death penalty was abolished in 2006 during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.