MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has formed tracker teams to pursue suspects in the killing of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga, following the issuance of an arrest warrant by a Mandaluyong City court.

The Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 279 issued a warrant of arrest dated Sept. 13, 2025 for murder and frustrated murder against 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, and dismissed police officers Nelson Enriquez Mariano and Jeremy Causapin, also known as Toks.

All accused remain at large except Mendoza, who is currently held at the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“The PNP respects and upholds the order of the Mandaluyong court. We are duty-bound to implement lawful orders issued by our courts, and the PNP is already preparing to carry out the necessary procedures to serve the warrant of arrest,” PNP acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said in a statement.

The tracker teams will be led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), which has been tasked to coordinate with regional police offices and intelligence units to monitor the suspects and implement arrests once conditions permit.

Nartatez said the PNP would ensure due process while executing the warrants. “Other units were instructed to assist [the CIDG]. The PNP is committed to swift and decisive action, with due consideration for the rights of all parties involved. Our priority is to bring the suspects before the proper court without delay,” he added.

CIDG Regional Field Unit–National Capital Region chief Lt. Col. John Guiagui said they already have information on the whereabouts of the accused.

“We will do a manhunt operation regardless of status, regardless of position. Hindi natin tinitingnan dito kung naging opisyal ba siya o former government official. As long as there is warrant, we will enforce it,” Guiagui told reporters.

Earlier this month, Garma flew to Malaysia as a tourist after arriving in the Philippines. She had been deported from the United States, which denied her request for political asylum. Garma has also agreed to testify against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed murder and frustrated murder charges against Garma in February over Barayuga’s 2020 killing. Mendoza previously implicated Garma and Leonardo as alleged masterminds during a congressional inquiry into Duterte’s drug war. (PNA)