Dacera likely got bruises from wheelchair, says accused

MANILA, Philippines — Flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera could have obtained the bruises on her legs from the wheelchair used to transport her from the hotel room to the hotel lobby.

This was the belief of Valentine Rosales, who recalled during a press conference Thursday that their group was having difficulty moving Dacera from the bathtub, where she was found unconscious on January 1 after a night of partying with friends at a hotel in Makati City.

“For the bruises, feeling ko ah, ‘yung sa legs, tumawag si Gigo ng medic tapos ‘yung wheelchair na kinuha nila… walang leg assist, ‘yung wheel lang tapos upuan lang. […] Noong time na ‘yun warm pa siya [Dacera], blackish ‘yung lips niya,” said Rosales, who faced members of the media along with the others who celebrated the turn of the year with Dacera at City Garden Hotel.

(As for the bruises on her legs, my hunch is, Gigo called up the medic then they took the wheelchair that had no leg assist, just the wheel and the chair… At that time, she was still warm, her lips blackish.)

Gigo is Gregorio De Guzman, son of singer-turned-businesswoman Claire dela Fuente and among the 11 persons named as respondents in the provisional rape with homicide complaint filed by the Makati City police over Dacera’s death.

According to police, there was foul play in the death of Dacera, citing her bruises and other physical signs that supposedly indicate she was sexually abused.

“Tapos ako naman, binuhat ko siya papunta sa wheelchair pero hindi maayos parang naka-slouch siya, naka-stretch ‘yung legs. Tapos sinasabi eh wala ngang leg assist kailangan may nakahawak sa paa niya. Naiipit ‘yung legs niya sa may sidebars ng wheelchair,” Rosales continued.

(Then I was the one who carried her going to the wheelchair but it was not proper, it was like she was slouched, her legs stretched. And then they were saying the wheel chair has no leg assist that someone should support her feet. Her legs were getting stuck at the sidebars of the wheelchair.)

Rosales, earlier denied that Dacera was raped and killed, firmly arguing that it would be absurd since all of them who were with Dacera that night were gays.

He even pointed out that they took turns taking care of her – rehydrating her, etc. – as she was already drunk.

The Makati City Police said in its complaint before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office that the flight attendant had lacerations and sperm in her genitalia as probers likewise found bruises, contusions, and scratches on her arms and legs.

However, on Wednesday, the city prosecutor sent the complaint back to the police “for further investigation.” The city prosecutor also ordered the police to provide more evidence to establish their case by submitting the toxicology report, chemical analysis, and histopath, among others.

KGA

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