Retired generals demand justice for slain fellow, not coup d’état

VP Sara Duterte can take if from Choy’s tweet:

“Ku’ng ako yu’ng assassin na kausap ni Sara, gagawin ko pa ba ang patrabaho niya ku’ng patay na siya? Sino na ang magbabayad sa akin? At ku’ng patay na siya pero bayad na ako, bakit ko pa gagawin ang patrabaho niya?”

Though not a fan of Sara, Choy’s words can be the VP’s new alibi of “impractical death threat.” That’s to rebut Justice Usec. Jesse Andres’ point that there’s no such thing as “conditional death threat.”

“There was a condition in what she said,” Sen. Bato Dela Rosa defended Sara. “If someone tries to kill her, she said she will have them killed too … basically, nothing will happen if she isn’t harmed.”

To which Andres countered: “A threat is a threat. If I say, ‘I’ll kill you if I don’t like your face’, it’s still a threat. ‘I’ll kill you whether I like it or not’; a threat is a threat.”

Rody Duterte’s spokesman babbled that unnamed retired and active-duty generals told the ex-President they plot a coup d’état. That’s why Rody incited the AFP and PNP to “correct the fractured government … of a new cocaine addict-President.”

Duterte supporters flocked to the EDSA Shrine to mimic the 1986 People Power Revolt.

In the original event a million people crowded EDSA, inspiring the military to break from dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Last Tuesday the Duterte crowd peaked at 600. Police videoed some of them gnashing that they were paid only P200 instead of the promised P500 to join.

On Wednesday 159 real retired generals and other Philippine Military Academy grads signed a manifesto for justice. They called for “immediate action and accountability in the murder of PNP Brig. Gen. Cavalier Wesley Barayuga.”

Hundreds more are expected to sign as the manifesto circulates in online chat groups of AFP-PNP retirees. Civil society and professionals are joining. The chat groups oppose mutiny.

Barayuga, PMA Class 1983, was assassinated on July 30, 2020. A gunman shot him in broad daylight in Mandaluyong City, a few blocks from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office where he was board secretary.

Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza, PMA 2006, confessed last Sep. 27 that he tasked vigilante Nelson Mariano to hire the hitman. Mendoza is with PNP Drug Enforcement Group, which congressmen recently found to include killers of mere suspects in Rody Duterte’s 2016-2022 bloody drug war.

Screengrab from CCTV, courtesy of PNP

Mendoza implicated retired police Cols. Edilberto Leonardo, Royina Garma and Hector Grijaldo. Leonardo came from PNP Academy Class 1996; Garma and Grijaldo, from PNPA 1997.

Mendoza testified at the House quad committee inquiry on extrajudicial killings, illicit quotas and rewards, and recirculation of seized shabu. He said Leonardo, as National Police Commissioner, contacted him to do in Barayuga. Leonardo claimed that the retired general was a narcotrafficker, so had to be “negated”.

Mendoza hesitated since Barayuga was not in Duterte’s original and updated drug lists. He offered to investigate first. Leonardo said “no need” because Garma had already cleared the hit. Garma, a former Davao City police station commander, was known to be close to Duterte.

Garma put up the P300,000-bounty for Barayuga. Mendoza gave the money to Mariano and assassin. Mariano affirmed Mendoza.

Garma, then PCSO general manager, frequently feuded with Barayuga, congressmen pieced together. Barayuga kept blocking Garma’s licensing of illegal Peryahan ng Bayan to crooked officers. PCSO chairman Anselmo Pinili, also PMA 1983, had hired Barayuga, known to their classmates as Mr. Clean.

Mendoza told Leonardo that the assassin couldn’t pin down Barayuga, who commuted to and from work. Garma then issued Barayuga a PCSO staff vehicle, and gave Mendoza the make, model, and plate number.

Barayuga was ambushed driving from work. Grijaldo was then Mandaluyong police chief. One month after the slaying, Barayuga’s name was inserted in the drug list as a “high-value target.”

Three generals jockeying to be PNP chief between 2020-2022 took custody of Mendoza, congressmen unearthed. For two months he was kept in Camp Crame White House, the PNP chief’s official residence.

“This savage and blatant act targets not only one man’s life, but also the entire fabric of trust and decency that holds our society together,” the generals manifested. “If such crime remains unaddressed, it establishes a dangerous precedent in which power can be wielded without restraint and impunity reigns supreme.”

The signatories demanded:

“(1) A thorough inquiry into the murder … is more than mere protocol; it’s a question of justice that cannot be postponed or impeded.

“(2) Arrest and prosecute those guilty regardless of position or influence. No favoritism, delay, or compromise. Include those involved in the coverup.

“(3) Zero-tolerance for abuse of power. The killing highlights the urgent need for reform and strong oversight in law enforcement.

“(4) Quick action to eliminate corruption, abuse, and wrongdoing within these organizations. No badge or position should exempt anyone from accountability.

“(5) Solidarity and support for the victim’s family. Their struggle for justice is our fight. We will not stop until those guilty held accountable.”

See list of signatories: https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc

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