ILOILO City – The family of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga expressed gratitude to the Quad Committee of the House of Representatives and to witnesses who have come forward to testify in his murder case, which is now under reinvestigation.
In a statement, Barayuga’s Iloilo-based family shared that the renewed attention to the case has brought them comfort, even as they remain cautious about the long road ahead.
“This gives us comfort even while we know that we are still far from receiving justice,” the family said, noting that for the past four years, the case seemed to have stagnated.
“We believe that this is God’s way of serving justice and clearing Wesley A. Barayuga’s name, whose case was wrongly linked to drugs in a desperate attempt to cover up the truth,” the statement added.
The murder of Barayuga, a retired police general and former director of the Iloilo City Police Office, occurred in July 2020 when he was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding assailant along Calbayog Street in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil ordered a reinvestigation into the case on Sept. 29, reigniting the family’s hope for justice.
Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas also expressed his sentiments, describing Barayuga as a dedicated city police director during his tenure.
“He was one of the good-performing city directors under me during my first term as mayor,” Treñas said in a statement.
Just this September 27, a police officer admitted regret for following what he claimed were orders from a superior at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) that led to the murder of Barayuga.
On July 30, 2020 in Mandaluyong City, Barayuga was ambushed after leaving his office at around 4:35 p.m.
At a House of Representatives hearing, Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza became emotional as he revealed the details of his involvement in the killing, stating that Barayuga was innocent.
Cong. Gerville Luistro of Batangas questioned Mendoza on why he appeared to be crying and trembling while reading his sworn statement. Mendoza explained that he held his senior officers in high regard, yet they assigned him a task that deeply troubled him. He named two former police officials — National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former PCSO general manager Royina Garma — as being involved in orchestrating the assassination.
Both Leonardo and Garma denied having anything to do with Barayuga’s killing.
Barayuga was Iloilo City Police Office director for two years from 2006 to 2008. He later became deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office 6.
In 2013, Barayuga held a general position in Camp Crame as executive officer for the Directorate for Logistics until he retired from the Philippine National Police.
According to Mendoza, Leonardo initially approached him with a mission to target Barayuga, falsely portraying him as a high-value individual involved in the illegal drug trade. Despite expressing reluctance, Mendoza said he was pressured to proceed with the operation, which was presented as an opportunity to advance his career. Leonardo assured him that the plan had Garma’s backing.
In July 2020, Mendoza, alongside fellow officer Nelson Mariano, was tasked with executing the hit. They allegedly received detailed instructions, including Barayuga’s whereabouts at the PCSO office and information about his service vehicle. Mendoza shared that Leonardo provided a photograph of Barayuga during a meeting inside the PCSO and later gave the go-ahead to carry out the attack when Barayuga left the building. The final orders were to allegedly eliminate Barayuga once he was outside, and Mendoza relayed these details to Mariano.
Mendoza disclosed that Garma, through Leonardo, provided a payment of P300,000 for the job.
Barayuga sustained fatal gunshot wounds, including one to the head./PN
