A former general, who chose to hide his identity, revealed that the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1983 managed to contact Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte but refused to testify.
Mendoza, along with former Police Corporal Nelson Mariano, appeared as witnesses during the House Quad-Committee hearing on September 27, where they implicated former PCSO General Manager and NAPOLCOM Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in the 2020 killing of PCSO Board Secretary Wesley Barayuga.
In a message obtained by DZRH News, the former general, an alleged former classmate of Barayuga, said that Mendoza declined to testify during Duterte’s term due to concerns for his safety and that of his family.
"Here's what happened ba't ngayon lang binuhay yung slay case ni Gen. Wesley Barayuga, General Ed Año (former DILG Secretary) and other retired mistas of PMA Class '83 was able to get hold of Mendoza at that time. The confessed planner to kill Wesley Barayuga but Mendoza declined to testify until the change of administration for fear of their lives and family but he committed to tell all once the right time comes after the Duterte Administration," the message read.
Due to this, the former general said PMA Class '83 agreed to Mendoza's plea and waited for the "right time."
"We even put up a 1 million peso bounty but witnesses were silenced," said the anonymous former military official.
Meanwhile, Class '83 also expressed their gratitude to the House Quad-Committee for its critical investigation, which brought them closer to the justice they had long sought.
"We can't thank enough the members of Quadcomm for their persevering and skillful questioning and elicitation from the resource persons to flare out the truth and confirm that Garma and Leonardo are the masterminds in the murder of Wesley Barayuga," the message read.
"We are interested to take any credit for the solution. We just work silently to attain justice for our dear mista," it added.
On September 29, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief PGen. Rommel Francisco Marbil ordered the reopening of the Barayuga murder case following the testimonies of Mendoza and Mariano.
Marbil emphasized that the allegations made by Mendoza during the House Quad-Committee hearing are serious and warrant a thorough investigation.
