DAVAO CITY — Former Presidential Security Group commander Brig. General Jesus Durante III , his deputy have arrived here for the general court martial proceedings, this, after Philippine Army Commander Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr., had approved the filing of administrative charges against them,
“They arrived last night’,” The source at the Eastern Mindanao Command confirmed that Durante and his deputy Colonel Michael Licyayo have arrived in the city.
While rmy soldiers Staff Sgt. Gilbert Plaza, Sgt. Delfin Sialsa Jr., Cpl. Adrian Cachero, and Pfc. Rolly Cabal, who are under the Army here, the suspects will also face court martial. But Pfc. Romart Longakit, who was earlier reported to be abducted, has remained missing.
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.
The accused are referred to the General Court Martial.
The military officials and enlisted personnel were charged with violation of Article of War 96, which refers to conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, and Article of War 97 which refers to all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and military discipline and all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the military service.
“The Philippine Army will uphold the highest form of discipline amongst its personnel in the performance of its mandate of serving the people and securing the land. The Army does not tolerate wrongdoings and criminal acts of any soldier, be they officers or enlisted personnel,” Brawner said.
Chua was killed by a lone gunman on December 29, 2023, when the vuctim was about to enter the gate of her rented apartment in Green Meadows Subdivision Subdivision, Barangay Sto. NIño, Tugbok District.
The National Police said that an Army Board of Inquiry helped in persuading the suspects to make confessions, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which recovered electronic evidence, provided assistance.
In his extra-judicial confession, Sergeant Delfin Sialsa Jr., the suspected shooter, said that Colonel Licyayo, Durante’s close aide, gave the order to burn Plaza’s personal belongings after the murder.
In a press conference in January 2023, then Police regional commander Brigadier General Benjamin Silo Jr., said that the criminal case against Durante and the other suspects is water-tight, and the circumstances of the murder are clear and the confession provided clarity.
The criminal charges are now pending at the Regional trial Court.
