THE Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, that among the hair strands recovered from the vehicle linked to the disappearance of Miss Grand Philippines 2023 contestant Catherine Camilon belong to a male, PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said.
In a press conference, Fajardo said it was confirmed through the conduct of DNA examination.
“We can confirm na aside doon sa mga hair strand na nag-match doon sa DNA profile po ng magulang ni Catherine ay mayroon pa ring hair strands doon na nagmamatch sa male po (We can confirm that aside from the hair strands that matched the DNA profile of Catherine's parent, there are still hair strands there that match with a male.),” she said.
“Pero as to the owner of hair strands po, we need po kasi ng DNA samples din katulad ng ginawa natin sa magulang ni Miss Catherine. So kailangan natin ng specimen to compare doon sa different hair strand na hindi po kay Catherine po (But as to the owner of the hair strands, we also need DNA samples, similar to what we did with Miss Catherine's parent. So, we need a specimen to compare with the different hair strands that do not belong to Catherine.),” she added.
Fajardo said they are yet to obtain DNA samples from the persons of interest in the disappearance of Camilon which include Police Major Allan de Castro who is currently under restrictive custody of the Calabarzon police.
She said they cannot force De Castro to provide the police with his zdna samples unless there is a court order.
Three other persons of interest includes De Castro’s driver/bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay and two John Does who are still currently at large.
The PNP earlier referred the filing of kidnapping and serios illegal detention against De Castro, Magpantay, and two others over the case of Camilon.
Fajardo said the preliminary investigation is set on December 19.
De Castro admitted having an affair with Camilon but he denied involvement on her disappearance.
Camilon was last seen in a mall in Lemery, Batangas on October 12.
Police recovered a vehicle which according to witnesses was used by three men to transport the body of a bloody woman in a remote area in Bauan, Batangas.