Murder raps filed in Israeli-GF case

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has filed murder charges against the suspects in the killing of a Filipino beauty queen and her Israeli boyfriend in Tarlac.

Police Col. Thomas Valmonte, chief of the CIDG’s legal division, filed two counts of murder against five respondents with the Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday. He did not provide the names of the respondents.

“Actually, they had a meeting, that’s why there’s an allegation of conspiracy. They had a meeting and planned the actual killing of the two,” Valmonte said.

“There were at least two respondents who shot the victims. Then there was another who disposed of the bodies. We included in the complaint other people who took part in the planning,” he said.

Geneva Lopez, a Mutya ng Pilipinas-Pampanga 2023 candidate, and Yitshak Cohen, her Israeli boyfriend, went missing after they went to Tarlac for a land transaction on 21 June.

A day later, the Bureau of Fire Protection probed an abandoned burned vehicle in Barangay Cristo Rey in Capas town. Lopez’s family confirmed the items recovered from the vehicle belonged to her.

The remains of the two were found shortly after in a quarry in Barangay Santa Lucia in Capas. An autopsy revealed they had been shot.

Interior and Local Government chief Secretary Benhur Abalos on 8 July presented former cops Michael Guiang and Rommel Abuzo, and civilian Jeffrey Santos as suspects.

Abalos said two more suspects, identified only as “Dondon” and “Junjun,” had surrendered.

Joni Lopez, Geneva’s sister, said they want justice. “We want everyone involved in this crime to be held accountable. That’s the only thing we want.”

Murder is a non-bailable offense. A conviction entails imprisonment of from 20 years and one day to 40 years.

Valmonte said the motive for the crime was a land dispute. He said that based on their probe, the respondents pawned a piece of land with the victims, and then later sought to get the land back. But Valmonte said Lopez and her boyfriend did not come to an agreement with the respondents.