THE FORMER commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte and still active member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was charged with murder for allegedly masterminding the killing of a Davao-based model and businesswoman late last year in Davao City with whom he has an “intimate relationship.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, hours after the filing of the complaint, Police Regional Office 11 (PRO-11) chief Brig. Gen. Benjamin Silo Jr. said that charges for murder and obstruction of justice were filed against Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante, commander of the Philippine Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade (1001IB), 10th Infantry Division, based in Maco, Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley), for the murder of model and businesswoman, Yvonne Chua Plaza.
Plaza, 38, was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding suspects in front of her rented house at Green Meadows Subdivision, Barangay Sto. Niño, Mintal, Davao City on the early evening of December 28, 2022.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1992, Durante, then a colonel, was appointed by President Duterte as PSG commander effective from February 25, 2020, until August 15, 2021, when he was replaced by Col. Randolph Cabangbang and given the command of the 1001st Brigade.
His deputy brigade commander, Col. Michael Licyayo was also charged with murder and obstruction of justice. The Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) likewise filed murder and theft charges against six other personnel of the 1001IB and two ‘John Does.’
The six were identified as SSgt. Gilbert Plaza, Sgt. Delfin Sialsa Jr., Cpl. Adrian Cachero, Pfc. Rolly Cabal, Pfc. Romart Longakit, and Noel Japitan, a civilian who allegedly served as the “striker.”
SITG spokesperson Maj. Eudisan Gultiano said one witness identified Sialsa as the gunman and Cachero as the driver of the motorcycle while Licyayo provided them details of the victim’s whereabouts as well as logistics to execute the murder.
Gultiano added that suspects confessed during the course of the investigation that it was Durante who directed them to kill Plaza.
After the shooting of Plaza, Gultiano said that Japitan was told to dismantle and change the color of the motorcycle. She said authorities recovered the stolen mobile phone, handbag, ID, and credit card of Plaza from the suspects.
Investigation further revealed that the exchange of messages confirmed the relationship between Plaza and Durante, who, in previous interviews, denied their relationship and involvement in the killing of Plaza. Durante claimed that Plaza was only his “friend.”
Court martial
Aside from the cases, Philippine Army commanding general, Lt. General Romeo Brawner Jr., said the suspects would also undergo court martial proceedings. “There will be a court martial and we will have custody over them,” Brawner told mainstream media on January 26, 2023.
“We do not tolerate these wrongdoings,” the official stressed as he also reminded officers that soldiers under their command are “not their private army.”
Durante and Licyayo have been transferred at the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio while the other suspects are presently detained at the division headquarters in Davao de Oro.