Guard fired for letting Davantes slay suspects enter Moonwalk

Following the killing last month of advertising manager Kristelle “Kae” Davantes who was abducted right in front of her house in Moonwalk Village, Las Piñas City, village officials are stepping up security measures.

For starters, the security guard who allowed the suspects to enter Moonwalk, even though their car had no access sticker, had been fired, according to United Moonwalk Village Homeowners’ Association Inc. (UMVHAI) vice president Paulina Villaflor.  “There was a lapse in the performance of his duties,” Villaflor told the Inquirer.

Security camera footage showed that the red Honda sedan used by the suspects entered Moonwalk’s Gate 1 around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, without being stopped by the guard. This was seven minutes after the entry of Davantes, who drove from Taguig City where she had a night-out with friends. She was found dead five hours later under a bridge in Silang, Cavite province.

Five of the six suspects, when arrested, admitted they used the car that night to look for someone to rob and ended up picking Davantes.

Villaflor said the guard may have allowed the suspects’ car to pass based only on its Las Piñas Friendship Route sticker, which allows Las Piñas residents to pass through gated subdivisions to avoid heavy traffic.  More security cameras will be installed around the village, not just at the gates, she said.

The UMVHAI is also identifying access points in the village that need perimeter fences.  Villaflor noted that only a creek separates the village from Molino, Bacoor City in Cavite, where the suspects are based.   Barangay Talon V chair John Orcine reminded subdivision officials to strictly follow regulations concerning outsiders, which require guards to list down all vehicles entering or leaving the villages and to ask incoming visitors about their purpose. Jaymee T. Gamil