Hunting down persons of interest in the death of a Philippine Airlines Express flight attendant on New Year without a warrant of arrest is a violation of the law, an activist group said on Wednesday.

Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said in a series of tweets that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should step in and launch an investigation into the death of Christine Dacera, who was found dead in the bathroom of the City Grand Hotel in Makati last January 1.

He also said that it was wrong for the police to assume that the suspects or persons of interest will fight back because it’s “conditioning our minds that they will kill the suspect.”

The Bayan official slammed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for its conflicting theories into Dacera’s death. The PNP initially said it was a rape-slay, but autopsy reports released on Tuesday pointed Dacera’s death to natural causes.

“Systemic ang problema at kahinaan ng PNP sa imbestigasyon ng mga krimen marahil dahil mas sanay sila sa cover-up at pagtatanim ng ebidensya sa halip na totohanang imbestigasyon at pagkakamit ng hustisya. Paulit-ulit natin itong nakikita ngayon,” he tweeted.

(The PNP has a systematic problem with investigating crimes probably because they are more prone to covering up crimes and planting evidence instead of investigating the crimes for real and seeking justice. We have repeatedly seen this nowadays.)

Reyes added that the conflicting theories floated by the PNP created more questions and confusion. It did not help that the PNP wanted to declare the case closed immediately.

“Sa pagmamadali ng PNP, kung ano anong malabong teorya at pahayag ang sinasabi nila na hindi makakatulong para malaman ang katotohanan sa pagkamatay ni Dacera,” he said.

(In their haste, they come up with vague theories and statements that do not help in knowing what truly happened in Dacera’s death.)

“Legal shortcuts and threats don’t solve cases. Honest investigation does.”

Dacera, together with her friends, all of whom are supposed members of the LGBT community, spent New Year’s Eve together. But by noontime of January 1, one of her friends found her unresponsive in the bathroom of the hotel room they rented.

During initial investigations, police said that Dacera was raped and killed. However, the autopsy report said that Dacera died of an aneurysm, and that she was not raped.