Catherine Camilon (Photo from Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — Police Major Allan de Castro, one of the suspects in the missing beauty queen’s case, has admitted having a relationship with Catherine Camilon, according to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, Major General Romeo Caramat.
Although De Castro admitted his affair with Camilon, Caramat said the police officer remained silent when it came to matters related to the beauty queen’s disappearance.
“As part of the investigation, we called Major De Castro, our primary suspect. We asked him if he was involved with Camilon’s disappearance, and he admitted having a relationship with her. However, he invoked his right to remain silent about his involvement with the case,” Caramat said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino.
Earlier, police said they were zeroing in on new testimony of the mother and a sister of Camilon, revealing her alleged affair with De Castro.
The chief of the Criminal Investigation Field Unit of Calabarzo, Colonel Jacinto Malinao, said screenshots of online conversations between the two also showed that Camilon was physically abused and had told De Castro’s wife that he was having an affair with her.
In previous interviews and reports, Camilon’s mother, Rosario, noted that her daughter had no known boyfriend or enemies. She also denied De Castro’s purported romantic relationship with the beauty queen.
However, Malinao revealed that Rosario and the beauty queen’s sister, Chin Chin, changed their statements and provided evidence to support their new testimonies after some female investigators talked to them again in Tuy, Batangas.
Camilon’s family agrees to give blood samples
Last Nov. 13, the Philippine National Police (PNP) revealed that complaints of kidnapping and serious illegal detention had already been filed against De Castro, his driver Jeffrey Arreola Magpantay, and two other “John Does.”
Magpantay was also one of the three witnesses who allegedly saw the transfer of the body, supposedly of Camilon, from her car to another vehicle, PNP said.
READ: 2 witnesses claim seeing men transferring body of missing beauty queen
A similar car that matches the vehicle’s description was found abandoned in a vacant lot along the corner of Dumuclay Road and Star Tollway in Barangay Pallocan East on Nov. 9.
READ: Reward increased for missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon
The PNP said the car, which had no license plates, was taken to Camp General Miguel Malvar in Batangas City. It added that its forensic group was examining fingerprints and blood samples collected in the retrieved vehicle.
READ: Family of missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon requests ‘privacy’ amid probe
Caramat said the family of Camilon finally agreed to give blood samples to cross-match with samples collected from the abandoned vehicle.