The charges against the police officer and his driver implicated in the disappearance of beauty pageant contestant Catherine Camilon were reportedly dismissed due to lack of evidence.
MISSING Previous police investigations show that Catherine Camilon was last seen with former Police Major Allan de Castro before her disappearance.
According to media reports, the regional prosecutor dropped the complaint of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against former Police Major Allan de Castro and his driver-bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay.
The prosecutor's resolution stated that there was insufficient evidence against the suspects to pursue the complaint in court.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Calabarzon filed a case of kidnapping against De Castro, Magpantay and two John Does before the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor's Office, which held three preliminary investigations in December.
In January, De Castro was dismissed from the service by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 4A (Calabarzon), following an investigation by the Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) 4A.
PRO 4A chief Brig. Gen. Paul Kenneth Lucas said the case against De Castro stemmed from allegations of conduct unbecoming of a police officer after a series of thorough investigation by the RIAS 4A
uncovering evidence of an illicit and extramarital affair between the respondent and Camilon.
“We are committed to the conduct of fair and impartial investigations into any allegations of misconduct, regardless of our personnel’s rank or position. Hindi natin hahayaan na masangkot sa ano mang katulad na insidente ang ating mga personnel (We will not allow our personnel to be involved in similar incidents) that will taint the image of the PNP, especially here in the PRO Calabarzon,” he said.
Lucas added De Castro's dismissal shows the force's commitment to maintaining the highest standards of conduct and integrity within its ranks.
He, meanwhile, clarified that De Castro's dismissal is an independent administrative action which is separate from the criminal investigation related to the disappearance of Camilon.
Camilon, a teacher in Tuy town, was last seen alive in October at a mall in nearby Lemery.
Camilon last made contact with her family when she called up to say she was in Bauan and was going to a meeting in Batangas City.
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