Almost a week after Baptist Church Pastor and anti-drug crusader Crisostomo Maternal Jr. was shot dead, a crime of murder was filed yesterday against suspects Garry Daclan and Benjie dela Cerna at the Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Cebu City Prosecutor Aurora Peñaflor found evidence to charge both the accused with murder after finding that there was qualifying circumstance and evident premeditation.
Maternal, an evangelist of Baptist Church in the mountain barangay of Bonbon in Cebu City, was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding men while on his way home last June 5.
Two days after, the alleged mastermind of his killing, Garry Daclan, was captured by a joint team from the Cebu City Police Office’s City Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Group and the City Intelligence Branch.
Three days after, Benjie dela Cerna, the driver of the getaway motorcycle, surrendered to the police.
In Daclan’s sworn affidavit, he rebuffs the claim that he is the mastermind behind the killing of Maternal and pointed to one Ramil Sibunghanoy/Bonghanoy, a supposed drug lord and currently detained at Muntinlupa Bilibid Prison, as the brain behind the incident.
He asserted that his role was merely to look for a gun for hire to kill Maternal, whom he tagged as Oliver Devilleres, also known as “Kabang.”
Meanwhile, dela Cerna’s judicial confession states that he was hired by the alleged gunman Devilleres and that he was driving the motorcycle when Devilleres shot Maternal.
The offense is nonbailable. The case was raffled to Branch 5 of the RTC.
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