NBI files charges vs 11 individuals over Christine Dacera’s death

Photo from the Instagram account of Christine Dacera

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed criminal charges against 11 individuals in connection with the death of 23-year-old flight attendant Christine Dacera on New Year’s Day.

According to a statement from the NBI on Friday, those charged were Mark Anthony Rosales, Romel Galido, John Pascual Dela Serna III, Darwin Joseph Macalla, Gregorio Angelo Rafael De Guzman, Jezreel Rapinan, Alain Chen, Reymar Englis, Atty. Neptali Maroto, Louie De Lima, and Police Maj. Michael Nick Sarmiento.

Among the cases filed before the Department of Justice are violation of Section 3 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, perjury, obstruction of justice, and reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

Some of those charged were companions of Dacera in a hotel in Makati on the night before she was found dead.

The NBI said it filed a case for violation of Section 3 (a) of the Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against Rosales for “introducing the party drugs to his companions”; Section 3 (k) of RA 9165 against Rosales and Galido for “delivering and giving away the party drugs,” and, perjury against Galido, Dela Serna, and Macalla for “providing false testimonies.”

A case of obstruction of justice was also filed against Rosales, Galido, Dela Serna, De Guzman, Rapinan, Chen, Englis, Macalla, and Maroto for “giving false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from apprehending the offenders.”

A case of reckless imprudence resulting in the homicide was likewise filed against Dela Serna, Rapinan, Chen, De Lima, for “recklessly neglect[ing] the condition of victim Dacera which led to her untimely death.”

Meanwhile, the NBI filed a case for falsification of an official document by a public officer against Sarmiento, medico-legal officer at the Southern Police District, for “declaring untruthful findings on his autopsy report.”

According to NBI, a reautopsy on the cadaver of Dacera revealed that the cause of her death was “microscopic evidence of peri-aortic hemorrhages and aortic wall disruption, suspicious for a bleeding dissecting aneurysm based on the review of slides of PNP Crime Laboratory.”

Toxicology examination on her body showed the presence of diltiazem, a prescription drug for the management of hypertension.

The NBI said its investigation revealed “glaring inconsistencies” in the autopsy report of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

According to NBI, the autopsy conducted by its Medico-Legal Division revealed that the victim’s urinary bladder was “full of urine,” nor was there abrasion in the external parts of her genitals, in contrast to the autopsy report of Maj. Sarmiento.

“Results of the autopsy report conducted by the NBI Medico Legal Division Chief revealed that in contrast to to the autopsy report of P/Maj. Sarmiento, M.D, victim’s urinary bladder was full or urine and in fact the NBI Forensic Team was able to extract 130 ml of urine and no abrasion was found in her labia majora,” the NBI said.

As to whether she was raped, the NBI said that has yet to be proven, which was why no charge of rape had been filed against any of the respondents.

“We cannot prove the fact of rape. We cannot do a charge when we cannot prove this either at the level of prosecution or more so with the courts,” NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said in a press conference.

According to NBI, the PNP Crime Laboratory turned over the laboratory result on two pieces of cotton found inside Room 2209 of the hotel, which showed the presence of flouromethamphetamine and methamphetamine, stimulants that are illegal under the Comprehensive and Dangerous Drugs Act.

“According to the testimonies of the witnesses who checked-in at Room 1107, around 3:00 in the morning, victim Dacera told them that she did not want to be at Room 2209 because her companions… because they were high for taking party drugs, in contrast to the sworn statements of the victim’s friends and companions at Room 2209,” the NBI said.

EDV