FOLLOWING the revelation of the mastermind and suspects of the businesswoman Yvonne Plaza’s murder case, an official of the 10th Infantry Division (10ID) said they now have a lead on one of the missing suspects.
Capt. Mark Anthony Tito, 10ID spokesperson, said one of the suspects that went absent without leave (AWOL) is just within their area of responsibility.
“May lead na tayo sa nagAWOL (We already have a lead to the one who went AWOL) and we are confident that he will surface later on. As of now, we cannot yet identify his location but we are gearing towards sa iyahang pagbalik into military control (for him to return into military control),” Tito said.
However, Tito said they don’t have any information yet about the alleged abduction of one of the suspects.
“Ongoing pa gihapon atoang inquiry, wala pa gyud tay nakuha. Padayon atong coordination sa pamilya ni PFC Longakit (We have an ongoing inquiry but we don’t have any development yet but we are also coordinating with PFC Longakit’s family),” he said.
He said that one of the John Does was a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) but said the other John Doe may not be a member of the Armed Forces.
“Ang master sergeant lang nahibal-an nako nga member sa AFP, but ang katong alyas JR, is dili to siya regular member sa AFP (The master sergeant is a member of the AFP but the alias JR is not a regular member of the organization),” he added.
On January 25, 2025, the Special Investigation Task Group Plaza (SITG-Plaza) identified 10 suspects in the Plaza’s murder where BGen. Jesus Durante III, a Brigade Commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade (1001IB) under the 10ID was declared the mastermind of the murder.
Seven are said to be personnel of the 1001IB, one is a civilian, and two others are "John Does.” KSD