NBI probes Dacera case

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation will carry out its own inquiry into the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera as doubts were raised over claims that she was raped and killed after a New Year’s Eve party at a Makati City hotel.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday ordered NBI officer in charge Eric Distor to start the probe seven days after Dacera was declared dead upon arrival at the Makati Medical Center on Jan. 1.

Guevarra said he issued the order because the “initial investigation by the Makati police was not thorough enough” and that was the reason Makati City prosecutors released the three arrested suspects.

He said the NBI wanted to secure the “complete forensic test results” before making public the findings of its own autopsy on Dacera’s remains.

“The longer it takes to examine the remains of the deceased and gather pieces of other evidence, the more difficult it becomes to establish the true cause of her death and identify any person liable … if a crime was indeed committed,” he added.

Makati City prosecutors released the three suspects purportedly because the police did not submit sufficient evidence to show that Dacera was sexually abused or killed although Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas himself concluded that the case was a rape-slay even before an autopsy was done on the 23-year-old flight attendant.

Although investigators are still awaiting the results of DNA analysis, toxicology and histopathology examination, the police only performed an autopsy after the body had already been embalmed.

Premature conclusion

Because of the police’s premature conclusion, the 11 persons of interest, who were with Dacera that night, became the subject of trial by publicity on social media.

The missteps led Dacera’s family—who were initially told that their loved one was raped and killed—to commission a second autopsy.

The police’s premature conclusion of a “rape-slay” also prompted two lawmakers—ACT CIS Rep. Eric Go Yap and Sen. Manny Pacquiao—to offer a bounty for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.

But Yap withdrew on Friday the P100,000 he offered as bounty since the suspects were already cooperating with the police.

But Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin lamented how the police mishandled the case and said statements “should not be given without proper autopsy findings and forensic pathology investigation because it gets confusing—to the investigators, to the media and to our people.”

“We need a platform to combine science and legalities. We need to safeguard victims and their families from public scrutiny,” Garin said.

Garin said she would seek to establish a proper death investigation system and provide support needed to strengthen forensic pathology in the country.