Missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon. Image: Facebook/Catherine Camilon
MANILA, Philippines — Photos or evidence allegedly showing former police officer Allan De Castro and missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon kissing were not enough to prove the kidnapping and serious illegal detention complaints against the former, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the photos of the two were among the evidence submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office of Batangas City, which it found to be insufficient.
“Ang sinasabi po dun sa resolution yung mga pinresenta ng enough ebidensya failed to prove na nagkaroon ng conspiracy within and among respondents De Castro and (Jeffrey Arreola) Magpantay dalawa pang di pa napapangalanang akusado ” Fajardo said in a press briefing on Thursday.
(The resolution said that the evidence presented failed to prove that there was a conspiracy within and among respondents De Castro and [Jeffrey Arreola] Magpantay, two other accused who have not yet been named.)
“Hindi nailagay or nakapagpresent ng enough evidence ang ating investigating unit between and among responds. Yung pictures na nagpapakita di umano na si Camilon and De Castro allegedly kissing does not prove kidnapping and serious illegal detention,” she added.
(Our investigating unit did not put or present enough evidence between and among our responses. The pictures that show Camilon and De Castro allegedly kissing do not prove kidnapping and serious illegal detention.)
READ: Cop, 3 others sued for kidnapping over beauty queen’s disappearance
But Fajardo said this is enough to prove the relationship between the two, which was denied by De Castro in the counter affidavit he submitted.
She further revealed that De Castro’s contention contradicts the statements given by Camilon’s friends.
Citing the resolution, Fajardo disclosed that the pictures also failed to prove that De Castro and Camilon met on the night of October 12, 2023, adding that even the text message the missing beauty queen sent to her friends indicating her supposed meet-up with the former police officer was deemed insufficient evidence.
Aside from these, the PNP official said that the prosecution “gave minimal” or “no credence” to the sponge covered with blood found inside the red Honda CRV recovered in a vacant lot along the corner of Dumuclay Road and Star Tollway in Barangay Pallocan East on November 9 last year.
“The resolution says that it is contrary to human experience for a criminal to leave a piece of evidence to a vehicle that has been used for the commission of crime,” Fajardo narrated.
In the same month, the PNP said it filed the above-mentioned complaints against De Castro and three others — Magpantay and the two referred to as “John Does” in the complaint sheet.
Around the same time, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, Major General Romeo Caramat, said De Castro admitted to having a relationship with Camilon.
But despite the officer’s revelation, Caramat said that De Castro remained silent when it came to matters related to the beauty queen’s disappearance.
Before De Castro’s revelation, PNP said two witnesses claiming that they saw three men allegedly transferring the body of Camilon to another vehicle surfaced after the police asked the public for help.
In January this year, Calabarzon police director Brig. Gen. Kenneth Lucas announced De Castro’s dismissal from service, while then-PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. revealed his release from restrictive custody.