A DETAINED POLICE Colonel who accused ranking House officials of forcing him to lie before a congressional investigation, will have to stay longer in jail after he was named an accused in a graft case filed with the Sandiganbayan.
Based on the documents obtained by the media, Col. Hector Grijaldo, who has been under “restrictive custody” since October 2024, allegedly ordered 51 subordinates to construct a private property in Sitio Cantipla, Barangay Tabunan, Cebu City.
Aside from Grijaldo, also named respondent in a criminal case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman is retired Master Sergeant Jesus Batobalonos.
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS
According to the Ombudsman, the incident took place from August 2019 to April 2020 — at a time when the accused Grijaldo and Batobalonos were part of the Philippine National Police – Regional Mobile Force Battalion (PNP-RMFB) in Central Visayas.
Grijado allegedly took advantage of their positions and “unlawfully and criminally” used their subordinates for the construction of a private structure owned by the police colonel.
“The act resulted in the injury to the Government in the amount of P9,435,144 more or less, representing the salaries paid to the said police officers, along with the resources of the PNP used to transport the officers to the construction site,” reads part of the information sheet obtained by the media.
GRIJADO’S TRAVAILS
Col. Grijaldo was the Mandaluyong City police chief who gained national prominence for his involvement in high-profile legislative investigations into the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs”.
During a Senate hearing in October 2024, Grijaldo in a sworn testimony said House quad committee stalwarts Reps. Dan Fernandez and Benny Abante pressured him to confirm the existence of a “reward system” for drug war killings. Both have since denied Grijaldo’s allegations.
In December 2024, the quad committee summoned him but Grijaldo opted to skip, for which he was cited in contempt and ordered arrested. The police colonel for his second citation ticket in January of the following year after he declined to answer questions regarding his testimony.
He has since been detained at the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 6 holding area.
WHAT WENT BEFORE
In July 2020, retired Police Gen. Wesley Barayuga, who was then working as Secretariat for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), was killed moments after leaving his office in Mandaluyong City.
Grijaldo was the chief of police in Mandaluyong when Barayuga was slain. It was for that reason that the House quad comm investigated his potential role or knowledge regarding the alleged cover-up of this incident.
The quad comm cited Grijaldo’s supposed links with then PCSO general manager, retired Gen. Royima Garma who was tagged as the alleged brains behind the Barayuga killing. The motive — to prevent the victim from leaking corruption in the agency.
Interestingly, Garma was later on classified as a “whistleblower” for admitting the alleged existence of a reward system to bolster the bloody war against drugs under the previous administration.