THE Senate Committees on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs and Justice an Human Rights cited in contempt on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, former Police Major Allan de Castro for allegedly lying during an inquiry into the disappearance of Miss Grand Philippines 2023 contestant Catherine Camilon.
Going public for the first time since he was implicated in the case, De Castro attended the hearing of the Senate panel where he vehemently denied having a relationship with Camilon.
“Hindi ko po siya girlfriend… Hindi po kami magkarelasyon (She was not my girlfriend... We were not in a relationship,” he told Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chairman Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
Camilon’s mother and sister maintained that they were in a relationship but they only learned about the matter the day after the beauty pageant contestant went missing through information given by one of the victim’s close friends.
Both the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the hearing said that they were able to establish that Camilon and De Castro had a relationship through the sworn statement of Camilon’s close friend, as well as photos of them displaying affection.
Padilla then made the motion to cite De Castro in contempt, and this was approved by Dela Rosa, who ordered the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to take De Castro in custody.
Another alleged primary suspect in Camilon’s disappearance, Jeffrey Magpantay, reportedly De Castro’s driver, also faced the panel’s hearing.
Magpantay denied any involvement in the case.
He said he is a family driver of De Castro’s family and he would only drive for the former police official on special occasions.
Complaints for kidnapping and serious illegal detention were filed against De Castro, Magpantay and two other John Does over the disappearance of Camilon, who was last seen in a mall in Lemery, Batangas on October 12.
De Castro was dismissed from the service for grave misconduct after he admitted to PNP Chief General Benjamin Acorda that he had an illicit affair with Camilon.
Two witnesses implicated Magpantay and two other John Does, saying that they saw them 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. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)