DAVAO CITY — The court martial proceedings against former Presidential Security Group commander Brig. General Jesus Durante III , his deputy Colonel Michael Licayayo and five others started on Tuesday.
A highly placed Newsline source said, the proceedings started with a challenge as Durante questioned the composition of the members of the court matrial, but later on it was resolved and the arraignment was done.
Durante and his deputy Colonel Michael Licyayo have arrived in the city from Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.
While army soldiers Staff Sgt. Gilbert Plaza, Sgt. Delfin Sialsa Jr., Cpl. Adrian Cachero, and Pfc. Rolly Cabal are confined to the military camp here since they surrendered in January.
However, Pfc. Romart Longakit, who was earlier reported to be abducted, has remained missing,
Only six of the seven suspects will face the court martial.
The court martial proceeding started after after Philippine Army Commander Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr., had approved the filing of administrative charges against them.
Maj. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra, commander of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, will preside over the GCM, with five other senior officers and one legal officer as members.
“The Philippine Amy finished reviewing the administrative liability on their alleged involvement in the Yvonette Chua Plaza murder case last December 29, 2022, outside her residence in Davao City,” Brawner said in a statement released by the Army Public Affairs chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad.
Another suspect tagged as an accomplice in the murder is a civilian and military man identified as Noel H. Japitan.
Durante was the commander of the Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade based in Davao de Oro province, and Licyayo served as his deputy commander, when Chua was murdered.
Chua was killed by a lone gunman on December 29, 2023, when the viuctim was about to enter the gate of her rented appartment in Green Meadows Subdivision Subdivision, Barangay Sto. NIño, Tugbok District.
