MANILA – Two of the accused in the 2020 murder of Atty. Wesley Barayuga have voluntarily surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following the issuance of arrest warrants against them.

The NBI said former police officer Nelson Enriquez Mariano surrendered on September 29 at its Organized and Transnational Crime Division (OTCD) in Manila. The next day, NBI agents flew to Bacolod City, where Police Lt. Col. Santie Fuentes Mendoza also yielded to authorities.

Barayuga, then PCSO Board Secretary and retired police officer, was gunned down along with his driver by motorcycle-riding assailants in Mandaluyong City on July 30, 2020. He died at the scene, while his driver survived with injuries.

A joint investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ), NBI, and PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) identified several suspects, including former PCSO General Manager Royina Marzan Garma, National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) Chairman Edilberto dela Cruz Leonardo, Mendoza, Mariano, and a certain Jeremy “Toks” Causapin.

During a House Quad Committee hearing in 2024, Mendoza and Mariano admitted involvement in the ambush and linked Garma and Leonardo as alleged masterminds. Their testimonies supported the DOJ-NBI-PNP findings, leading to murder and frustrated murder charges against them.

Mandaluyong RTC Branch 279 has since issued arrest warrants for all accused.

NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago commended his agents and the PNP-CIDG, stressing that “collaboration among law enforcement agencies is crucial in pursuing justice.”