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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Dela Rosa confirms lifting of contempt order vs prime suspect in Camilon case

Dela Rosa confirms lifting of contempt order vs prime suspect in Camilon case

Published Mar 21, 2024 10:31 am

At A Glance

  • Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa confirmed on Thursday, March 21, the lifting of the contempt order against one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of beauty queen Catherine Camilon, and that he was no longer under the Senate's custody.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa confirmed on Thursday, March 21, the lifting of the contempt order against one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of beauty queen Catherine Camilon, and that he was no longer under the Senate's custody.

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Police Major Allan de Castro (Arnold Quizol/MB)

"Pinakawalan ko dahil bakasyon ang Senado ng more than 1 month. Walang magaganap na hearing while bakasyon, nakabreak ang Senado. So hindi ko kinakailangan ang presensya niya. Pagbalik ng Senado kung magkakaroon pa kami ng hearing, ipapatawag natin ulit siya (I released him because the Senate will be on vacation for more than a month. There will be no hearing during the vacation, while the Senate is on break. So I have no need of his presence. Once we return and there will be hearing, we will summon him again)," Dela Rosa told reporters.

Dela Rosa was referring to Police Major Allan de Castro.

He added that this was also done for "humanitarian reasons" and was purely a decision coming from him.

The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, said that he spoke to Senator Robinhood Padilla about lifting the contempt order against De Castro.

"Tinanong ko si Senator Robin Padilla kung pwede nating irelease ito. Walang problema sakin yan, dahil magbabakasyon tayo at kawawa naman yung tao na maiiwan diyan sa baba. Kawawa yung mga OSAA natin na magwardya niyan habang nakabreak ang Senado. So minabuti na lang natin na irelease (I asked Senator Robin Padilla if he can be released. He said that it was no problem to him, since whoever will be left there will have a hard time. He added that it will be difficult for the OSAA to guard him while the Senate is on break. So we decided to release him)," Dela Rosa explained.

It was Padilla who made the motion to cite De Castro in contempt. The latter is currently linked to the disappearance of Camilon in Batangas last October 2023. Dela Rosa then ordered that De Castro be taken into custody.

According to Dela Rosa, he sees no reason for De Castro not to attend the Senate panel's hearing should he be invited again.


De Castro was a no-show in a Feb. 27 hearing, and this prompted the release of a subpoena against him and his driver-bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay.

In the previous hearing, De Castro insisted that he did not have a relationship with Camilon, despite the evidence presented by Camilon's family and investigators. This led to the contempt order against him.

Dela Rosa said that De Castro cried in front of him when he visited him. He was firm that Camilon was not his girlfriend.

According to Catherine's sister Ching-Ching, they only found out about the relationship when her sister disappeared.

"Bale Oct. 12 po nawala yung kapatid ko, Oct. 13 ko po nalaman na magkasintahan sila. Nang dahil po dun kaibigan ng kapatid ko na nag-open po samin ng lahat (It was in Oct. 12 when my sister disappeared, it was Oct. 13 when I found out they were in a relationship. This was revealed to us by a sister of my friend)," she explained.

Both the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) explained during the hearing that they have established that De Castro and Catherine were in a relationship based on sworn affidavits of close friends as well as photographs of the two "showing affection".

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has declared Camilon a “missing person” after her family had difficulty locating her in October of last year.

Authorities said that a close friend had divulged about an alleged relationship between De Castro and the beauty queen. According to police, the close friend reported that Camilon was supposed to meet De Castro on the day of her disappearance.

Kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges have been filed against De Castro, Magpantay, and two other suspects.

Dela Rosa said that if a warrant of arrest is issued during his release, they can no longer place him under their custody.

Related Tags

Contempt Order Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa Catherine Camilon Senator Robin Padilla
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