BI confirms Royina Garma left PH for Malaysia

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said that retired police colonel Royina Garma, who is facing a murder complaint over the death of former PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, has again left the Philippines, only a day after her return.

According to the BI, Garma left as a tourist for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, departing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 10:43 p.m. on Sunday.

The BI said that though she is the subject of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order, there is no hold departure order or arrest warrant issued against her.

“The BI followed the procedure set in the ILBO and reported the matter to the DOJ (Department of Justice). Upon verification, there was no hold departure order or warrant of arrest issued against her,” it said in a statement.

Garma returned to the Philippines on Saturday from Los Angeles, California.

The development came almost 10 months to the day since she was held by authorities in California in the United States on November 7 last year due to a canceled visa.

Garma left the Philippines after attending several hearings of the House Quad Committee into the Duterte administration’s drug war. During house hearings, she was accused of ordering the killing of Barayuga, a claim she has denied.

It was also Garma who claimed that former President Rodrigo Duterte asked her to look for an officer to implement the Davao model of the drug war on a national scale. Garma said the Davao model referred to a “system involving payments and rewards.”

For his part, Duterte denied that a reward system was implemented during the drug war. —KG, GMA Integrated News