PNP vows ‘fair’ probe after cop linked to missing beauty tilt bet

LUCENA CITY—The top official of the Philippine National Police in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region assured the public of an impartial investigation into the disappearance of Miss Grand Philippines 2023 contestant Catherine Camilon after a “person of interest” turned out to be a police officer.

In a recorded video message on Friday morning, Police Brig. Gen. Paul Kenneth Lucas, director of Calabarzon police, said he was saddened by the alleged involvement of the police officer in the woman’s disappearance and assured they would “investigate him even if he was one of us in the service.”

According to Lucas, the person of interest belongs to the Calabarzon police’s headquarters in Canlubang, Laguna, but he did not provide more details, except that the police officer and Camilon were “in a relationship.”

An Inquirer source said the person of interest is married and has the rank of a “major.”

A person of interest is anyone the police believe has crucial information about a criminal case or has possible involvement but has yet to be charged.

Lucas said he left it to the decision of the person of interest to admit his responsibility for the disappearance of Camilon or come out with his statement refuting reports on his involvement.

‘Still alive’

Lucas assured the Camilon family that the probe into the disappearance of the 26-year-old native of Tuy town in Batangas province was a priority. The Camilon family would be provided with security protection by the Tuy police, he added.

“As of [Friday], Miss Catherine is still listed as missing. We are very optimistic that she is still alive,” he said.

Camilon went missing while driving a Nissan Juke car from Tuy town to Batangas City on Oct. 12.

The Tuy police were looking into the registered owner of the car as the vehicle is not registered under her name.

The evidence and all related documents to the case have been transferred to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the region as the lead investigator, Lucas said.

He disclosed that the police officer became a person of interest after the family and friends of Camilon interviewed by investigators on Oct. 22 revealed that the officer “was the last person who was with Camilon based on her text messages with a friend.”

The text message, sent to Camilon’s sister, “contains information from a close friend about the romantic relationship between Catherine and the police officer, and that the police officer was the one who gave Catherine the vehicle she used, which was caught on the closed-circuit television footage,” the Calabarzon police said in a statement on Thursday.

“On the text message, the friend also mentioned that Catherine and the police officer agreed to meet on the day of her disappearance,” the statement added.

The Inquirer tried to reach Camilon’s sister for comment but she did not respond to calls and text messages.

Relieved

According to the Calabarzon police, the person of interest had been relieved of his current post pending a full and impartial investigation.

READ: Alleged cop is ‘person of interest’ in missing Miss Grand PH 2023 contestant

He was immediately placed under the custody of the Philippine National Police Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, pending approval of the Commission on Elections, which has control over all police deployment in view of the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Lucas said they already have the contact details, phone number and Facebook account of the person of interest. INQ