MANILA, Philippines (Philippine News Agency) — Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Philippine Army commander, assured the public that no special treatment would be given to a ranking official who was tagged as the alleged mastermind in the murder of businesswoman Yvonette Plaza in Davao City.
"We do not tolerate any wrongdoings or criminal acts of any of our soldiers, be they officers or enlisted personnel, our treatment of them, if they err, are the same. And we learned from reports that Gen. Durante is a person of interest, we immediately had a conference and decided to relieve him from his post as commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade so that the investigations will be impartial, although our actions are [Standard Operating Procedure]," Brawner said in Filipino in an interview with DZBB on Thursday.
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He was referring to Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, the commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade, who was identified by police as the person behind the crime.
Brawner also said they respect the judicial system and will allow the legal process to take its course.
He said Durante and his deputy Col. Michael Licyayo, who was also implicated in the case, are already being held at PA headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Metro Manila after being relieved from their posts.
"That is our SOP especially for criminal cases, they are relieved of their posts immediately but they will be placed in PA custody," he added.
Brawner also said these Army personnel would also be charged under the military justice system.
"There will be a court martial and we will have custody of them, we have a custodial center where they will be kept for safekeeping while their case is being heard," the PA chief added.
He also said the court martial proceedings will proceed along with the criminal case filed against these personnel.
On Wednesday, Police Brig. Gen. Benjamin Silo Jr. — Police Regional Office 11 director — said they have sufficient evidence to charge Durante with murder and obstruction of justice in the killing of Plaza.
Plaza was shot at close range by motorcycle riding in tandem gunmen in front of her rented house at Green Meadow Subdivision in Davao City's Tugbok District on Dec. 28, 2022.
— Philippine News Agency/ Priam Nepomuceno
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The Philippine News Agency (PNA) is the Philippine government’s official web-based newswire service.