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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Murder suspect Royina Garma back in PH after 10-month detention in US

Murder suspect Royina Garma back in PH after 10-month detention in US

Published Sep 6, 2025 08:55 pm
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina M. Garma arrived Saturday night, Sept. 6, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Los Angeles, California.
Garma’s arrival was posted by the BI in its Facebook account which also carries her arrival photograph.
Garma, a retired police colonel, and her daughter left the Philippines in November last year but they were held upon their arrival in San Francisco, California due to cancelled visas.
On Feb. 3, 2025, a criminal complaint was filed against Garma and five other respondents before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
She was charged with murder for the 2020 killing of PCSO board secretary and retired police general Wesley Barayuga and for the frustrated murder of Barayuga’s driver Jun Gunao.
Aside from Garma, also named respondents in the complaint were retired police colonel Edilberto Dela Cruz Leonardo, Police Lt. Col. Santie Fuentes Mendoza, PSMS Jeremy Zapata Causapin, Nelson Enriquez Mariano, and a certain alias "Loloy."
The National Bureau of Investigation-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (NBI-AOTCD) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed the complaint following investigation on the revelations made during the House of Representatives quad committee hearings last year.
Garma testified before the House of Representatives quad committee on the illegal drugs operations during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
She was previously detained by the quad com after being cited in contempt but was later released. She then fled to the United States.
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