This question of ours was finally provided the shocking answer yesterday after the much awaited press conference was finally called by the Special Investigating Task Group (SITG) formed to investigate the crime. The result of the investigation was disclosed by Police Regional Office XI Director Brig. Gen, Benjamin Silo, Jr. The SITG probe identified the alleged mastermind in the Plaza killing as former Presidential Security Battalion Commander Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante 111. Durante was commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade but was recently relieved probably after his name was dragged into the case that happened late December last year. He is now facing murder charges along with nine others.
NBI Regional Director Arcelito Albao, a leading member of the SITG, also confirmed reports that the Army official and the victim used to have a “romantic relationship.” Thus the killing is now dubbed as a “crime of passion.”
Well, there must have been so much love involved in the romantic liaison between the suspected mastermind and the victim that it had to go as far as having the woman killed and the lover trading his lofty rank in the Army just to put an end to the life of his beloved. And what could have the victim done that made the suspected mastermind decide that only her death could do justice to his criminal act?
Of course identifying the suspects and filing the appropriate charges is one easy part of the process of making the criminals pay for their crime. But it is still a long way to go until finding them guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
We can only hope that in the trial process, assuming that the prosecutor will find substantial evidence to affirm the charge and have it elevated to the court, will finally result to conviction. That would be a big boost to the morale of the investigators.
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Indeed nature when it exacts its revenge to humanity, the magnitude of the damage is insurmountable. Yes, the past few weeks when a series of low pressure areas (LPAs) hovered over the Mindanao and the Visayas islands bringing heavy rains almost every day, the accumulated destruction to agriculture and infrastructure is already so huge that it is feared to disrupt the recovery of the islands and the country as a whole from the economic debacle brought about by the more than two years of the CoViD 19 pandemic.
In fact it appears that the exaction of nature’s revenge is not yet over. The other day it was reported in the broadcast media that the road from Calinan to Malabog via Megkawayan had been inaccessible after an almost half a kilometer stretch barred down due to the subsidence of the soil base. According to residents in the area the soil base of the concreted road must have softened considerably because of the almost daily heavy rains in the whole of Davao City. In fact on that same stretch of the Calinan-Malabog road several houses were abandoned by the owners as these were either partially or fully destroyed by a landslide.
Meanwhile, in the Zamboanga peninsula as well as in the Northern Mindanao provinces that were first to be devastated by floods since Christmas eve until the first week of January this year, the figures of the damage in agriculture and government and private infrastructures are still not fully determined. It keeps on increasing by the day.
And again, there is another low pressure area not far from the east of the Davao Region which is causing the gloomy weather in the first three days of this week. We can only say thank you to the Almighty that the rains since Monday were not strong enough to cause flashfloods in the city. But we cannot be complacent or else we will have the same experience people in the Zamboanga Provinces and cities have lately.
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The First District of Davao City is undergoing a massive change in street lighting. That is, from the present Davao Light-connected sodium or Light Emitting Diode LED) bulbs to solar lamps. The project is initiated by the Office of Congressman Paolo Duterte. The first barangay that has benefitted from the solar street lighting project is of course Catalunan Grande where the congressman is a resident.
But while Catalunan Grande is the showcase of the project we are informed that the primary roads leading to other barangays in the first district will also be lighted with solar lamps. With this eventuality what is the City planning to do with the electricity powered street lamps? Will the city have the lights retrieved by the power distributor? Or, will the local government allow it to continue lighting the streets with the sodium and LED lights side by side with the solar lamps?
Certainly the power distributor’s income loss is the city’s gain.
