Authorities on Monday filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) murder and frustrated murder charges against former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma and several other individuals over the July 2020 assassination of retired police general and PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
In a two-page referral letter to Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, the National Bureau of Investigation said “sufficient pieces of evidence were gathered to recommend murder and frustrated murder charges” against Garma, retired police colonel Edilberto Leonardo, and Jeremy Causapin alias “Toks.”
Also recommended for inclusion in the charges were Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, former police officer Nelson Mariano, a certain alias “Lolo” and several John Does.
Mendoza implicated Garma and Leonardo as masterminds of Barayuga’s ambush when he testified before the House Quad Committee (Quadcom).
The joint investigation was conducted by the NBI Organized and Transnational Crimes Division (OTCD) and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
