Mandaluyong city: The Philippine National Police (PNP) has initiated the formation of tracker teams to pursue the remaining suspects implicated in the murder of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga. This action follows the issuance of an arrest warrant by a Mandaluyong City court.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 279 released a warrant of arrest for murder and frustrated murder on September 13, 2025. The warrant targets former PCSO general manager and retired police colonel Royina Garma, Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, retired police colonel and former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, along with dismissed police officers Nelson Enriquez Mariano and Jeremy Causapin (alias Toks). Among those accused, only Mendoza is currently in custody at the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
PNP acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez affirmed the organization's commitment to executing the court's order. "The PNP respects and upholds the order of the Mandaluyong court. We are duty-bound to implement lawful orders issued by our courts," Nartatez stated. He emphasized the PNP's preparation to carry out necessary procedures to serve the arrest warrant.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will lead the tracker teams, coordinating with regional police offices and intelligence divisions to track the suspects' movements and make arrests when feasible. Nartatez assured that the PNP will maintain due process while ensuring the prompt fulfillment of the warrant.
Lt. Col. John Guiagui, CIDG Regional Field Unit-National Capital Region chief, disclosed that they have located the suspects. Despite the formation of tracker teams, Guiagui highlighted the need for a unified effort from various PNP units. "We will do a manhunt operation regardless of status, regardless of position," Guiagui stated, emphasizing that the enforcement of the warrant is paramount.
Recently, Garma traveled to Malaysia as a tourist after being deported from the United States, which denied her request for political asylum. Garma has agreed to testify for the prosecution against former president Rodrigo R. Duterte before the International Criminal Court. The National Bureau of Investigation filed charges against Garma in February for her alleged involvement in Barayuga's 2020 murder. During a congressional inquiry related to Duterte's drug war, Mendoza identified Garma and Leonardo as masterminds behind the killing.