POLICE Major Allan de Castro, one of the persons of interest in the disappearance of Miss Grand Philippines 2023 contestant Catherine Camilon, was dismissed from police service, Calabarzon Police Regional Office (PRO) Director Brigadier General Kenneth Lucas announced Thursday, January 18, 2024.
In a press conference, Lucas said he approved the recommendation of the Internal Affairs Service to dismiss De Castro from the service over grave misconduct in relation to Camilon’s disappearance.
The order took effect on January 16, 2024.
Calabarzon Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) deputy chief Major Nilo Morallos said Camilon already appears to be dead considering the accounts of the witnesses, although they are still “hoping for the best.”
Camilon was last seen in a mall in Lemery, Batangas on October 12, 2023.
De Castro earlier admitted having an illicit affair with Camilon but he denied involvement in her disappearance.
There were, however, two witnesses implicating De Castro’s driver/body guard Jeffrey Magpantay and two other John Does in the incident.
The witnesses said they saw Magpantay and two other men transferring a bloody body of a woman whose physical features matched Camilon from a vehicle to another in a remote area in Bauang, Batangas.
The vehicle where the woman’s body was said to be transferred was recovered in Batangas City and the hair strands and blood stains found inside matched with the DNA of Camilon’s parents.
Complaints for serious illegal detention and kidnapping were filed against De Castro, Magpantay and two other John Does in connection to Camilon’s case.
Magpantay surrendered to the police on January 9, 2024. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)