NBI seeks Interpol’s help for Garma’s arrest

National

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has sought the help of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to locate and arrest retired police colonel and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, who is accused of masterminding the 2020 killing of a fellow lottery official.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago confirmed that the agency formally requested the Interpol to issue a red notice against Garma after a Mandaluyong court ordered the cancellation of her passport earlier this month, a report by Inquirer.net stated.

The notice would alert police forces worldwide to locate and provisionally detain her pending extradition to the Philippines.

The move comes as authorities intensify efforts to bring to justice those allegedly involved in the murder of Wesley Barayuga, a PCSO board secretary and former police brigadier general, who was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants on July 30, 2020.

Barayuga’s driver survived the attack, which took place while the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs was still in full swing.

At the time of the killing, Garma headed the PCSO after retiring from the Philippine National Police, where she had served as Cebu City police chief.

Investigators alleged that she ordered the hit after accusing Barayuga of involvement in illegal drug operations — a claim his family has consistently denied.

The Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court on October 15 issued a hold departure order against Garma and four others: Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, former police commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and dismissed police officers Nelson Mariano and Jeremy Causapin.

Only Mendoza and Mariano appeared during the arraignment and pretrial conference, according to the court’s records. The group faces nonbailable charges of murder and frustrated murder.

The case had stalled for years due to lack of witnesses and physical evidence.

However, the NBI revived it in October 2024 after Mendoza made explosive statements before a congressional inquiry into extrajudicial killings and the alleged ties between the police, offshore gaming operations, and the illegal drug trade under former President Rodrigo Duterte.

During the hearing, Mendoza claimed that Leonardo had repeatedly contacted him between late 2019 and mid-2020 to carry out a “special operation” targeting Barayuga, whom Garma allegedly branded as a “high-value target.”

Mendoza further alleged that Garma provided ₱300,000 to finance the mission.

Garma’s last known public appearance was in Malaysia in September, where she was reportedly in contact with International Criminal Court (ICC) representatives as a potential witness in cases related to Duterte’s drug war.

Her presence abroad has fueled speculation that she might be seeking asylum or negotiating protection in exchange for testimony — a possibility neither the ICC nor Philippine authorities have confirmed.

With the Interpol red notice request now underway, Garma could soon be tracked down and detained in any of the organization’s 195 member countries.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)