MANILA – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco is coordinating with US authorities on the case of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, who was arrested and detained in California last November 7, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.
DFA Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza confirmed that Garma and her daughter Angelica Vilela are still in the custody of the US Customs and Border Protection (US-CBP) in San Francisco.
“The Department, through the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, is continuously coordinating with US authorities regarding the reported arrest and detention of Ms. Royina Garma and Ms. Angelica Vilela,” she said.
“The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco stands ready to extend appropriate assistance to Filipino nationals within its consular jurisdiction, in accordance with existing rules and regulations,” she added.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier said no charges had been filed against Garma, which meant she was free to travel abroad.
The US, however, has the prerogative to cancel her visa, it said.
In a House of Representatives Quad Committee hearing on alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza of the Police Drug Enforcement Group implicated Garma in the assassination of board secretary and retired general Wesley Barayuga in 2020.
Garma had also previously claimed that former President Rodrigo Duterte asked her help to “replicate the Davao Model” for his anti-illegal drug campaign. (PNA)