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Napolcom Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo is also tagged in the killing of three Chinese drug lords in Davao in 2016
MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives’ “quad committee” has detained retired police colonel-turned-National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo for supposedly lying during the mega-panel’s probe on Friday, September 27.
Leonardo will be detained within the House premises after he was cited in contempt. He was tagged in the killing of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary retired general Wesley Barayuga and in the killing of three Chinese drug lords in Davao.
The Napolcom official will be held under House custody “until the joint committee would finish its report.”
During the hearing, Leonardo was asked about a meeting before the killing of the Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Penal Farm and Prison in August 2016. At least two people, including the then-warden of Davao prison Senior Superintendent Gerardo Padilla, confirmed that there was such a meeting.
However, Leonardo denied for several times the existence of their meeting. This pushed Abang Lingkod Representative and quad committee co-chairperson Joseph Stephen Paduano to cite Leonardo in contempt.
This was the first time Leonardo was cited in contempt in the monthslong duration of the mega-panel’s inquiry into extrajudicial killings, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, Chinese syndicates, and Philippine offshore gaming operators. The Napolcom commissioner has attended prior hearings but was not cited in contempt since he was responsive to the lawmakers’ inquiries.
Leonardo joins the list of resource persons the House had cited in contempt and so far detained. Retired police colonel and former PCSO general manager Royina Garma, who’s also implicated in the probe like Leonardo, is already under House custody after she was cited in contempt over the same reason.
Before Duterte appointed him to the Napolcom, Leonardo first served as an environment undersecretary. Whistleblower Arturo Lascañas named Leonardo as an alleged member of the Davao Death Squad in his affidavit submitted to the International Criminal Court, but did not mention the certain operation that he supposedly took part in.
Like Garma, Leonardo is known for his ties with Duterte after serving in the Davao Region for years. Both Leonardo and Garma are now implicated in the killing of Barayuga in 2020 after Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza recently claimed that he was ordered by the two to kill Barayuga. – Rappler.com
