A Mandaluyong court has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passports of former Philippine Sweepstakes general manager Royina Garma and former police commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in connection with the 2020 killing of Wesley Barayuga.
In an order dated October 15, the Regional Trial Court also directed the cancellation of the passports of Santie Mendoza, Nelson Mariano and Jeremy Causapin, all facing murder and frustrated murder charges.
‘As holders of valid Philippine Passports, there exists serious risk that they will flee from the jurisdiction of the court to evade trial and punishment,’ the court’s order read.
The court granted the prosecutors’ request two take two preventive legal steps, namely a hold departure order that prohibits the accused to leaving the country without permission, and a passport cancelation.
It also noted that all accused except Mendoza and Mariano remain fugitives from justice.
Arrested suspects in NBI custody. Garma and Leonardo’s bid to halt proceedings was also rejected, as the court directed that Mendoza and Mariano to remain in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Both Mendoza and Mariano had entered not guilty pleas, and the court set a pre-trial conference on November 12.
Alleged masterminds. Garma and Leonardo were previously tagged as alleged masterminds in Barayuga’s killing during House Quad Committee hearings. Barayuga, who served as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary, was shot dead in Mandaluyong City in 2020.
In September, former Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Garma had been deported from the United States after her asylum application was denied and was reportedly set to testify before the International Criminal Court against detained former President Rodrigo Duterte.