The House quad committee is now gearing up to recommend filing murder charges against former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Royina Garma and National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, who are said to be responsible for the 2020 murder of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, a retired police general.

In an interview on Monday, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the committee will likely file its partial report recommending the criminal rap next hearing, scheduled for the third week of October. 

"Congress can only conduct hearings or inquiries in aid of legislation. We don't have prosecutorial powers. The only thing we can do in the committee report is to recommend [filing] murder charges to the judicial body," the lawmaker stated.

"In this case, we can forward the committee report to the DoJ (Department of Justice)."

Pimentel, however, said they would leave the case filing to the PNP should they establish prima facie evidence.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, announced over the weekend that they will reopen the investigation into Barayuga's killing, to be led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). 

Barayuga was shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle on 30 July 2020, shortly after leaving the PCSO office in Mandaluyong City. He was aboard a white pick-up truck allegedly issued by Garma herself in the morning of that day.

P/Lt.Col. Santi Mendoza, who arranged the assassination for P300,000, disclosed the order to permanently silence the PCSO official came from Leonardo and originated from Garma, "who has personal knowledge of the illicit drug activities of Barayuga."

Mendoza became emotional while giving his testimonies before the quad comm because he said, "we killed an innocent person."

Both Garma, a retired police who headed PNP-CIDG, and Leonardo denied the allegations against them.

In a separate interview on Monday, quad comm chairperson Ace Barbers said they believe Mendoza is a credible witness given that it was an admission against self-interest.

"It was a solid testimony because it was an admission against self-interest, which the court gives weight," he remarked.

According to Barbers, another witness will appear at the next hearing and may corroborate Mendoza's testimony. According to Barbers, the DoJ is also looking into the possibility of having Mendoza as a state witness.

"We will forward it to the CIDG so that there can be finally a closure on the killing of Gen. Baryuga," he stressed.

Members of the quad comm firmly believe that Barayuga is innocent of the accusations against him having been described as a simple person—who commutes to work and brings his lunch to the office—by his colleagues in the PCSO and his mistahs in the Philippine Military Academy.

Barayuga's assassination reportedly occurred at the height of an ongoing investigation wherein he had been "ready to testify" against the supposed corruption and illegal practices, most specifically in the operations of STL (small town lottery) during Garma's tenure.

Garma and Leonardo were reportedly closely associated with former president Rodrigo Duterte and were allegedly former members of the Davao Death Squad.

Apart from Baruyaga's killing, Garma was also accused of orchestrating the murders of the three alleged Chinese drug lords in 2016 at Davao Prison and Penal Farm.  

Pimentel earlier called Garma a “ruthless killer” who hides behind “an innocent facade to commit brutal crimes” especially at the height of the war on drugs.

Former mayor Tommy Osmeña, who also testified before the quad comm, said that at least 198 killings were recorded during Garma’s tenure in Cebu City when she was still a police colonel.