Police officer admits 'illicit relationship' with missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon
The cop—who has been considered a prime suspect in the case of missing beauty queen Catherine Camilon—admitted having an "illicit relationship" with her, but remained silent about his alleged involvement in her disappearance.
According to a report by GMA's 24 Oras, Police Major Allan de Castro confirmed his previous affair with Camilon during a 30-minute conversation with Philippine National Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director Romeo Caramat in Camp Crame on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
"Siya po ay iniharap natin kay chief PNP kaninang umaga, and he admitted na mayroon silang illicit relationship with Miss Camilon," Caramat told the news outlet.
De Castro, however, chose to stay silent when authorities brought up questions in line with his alleged involvement in the case during their discussion.
"Noong siya ay tanungin natin kung meron ba siyang involvement sa pagkawala ni Miss Camilon sinabi lang nya kay chief PNP, he invoked his right to remain silent," Camarat recalled.
"Nag-sorry siya kay chief PNP for dragging the PNP organization na nadadamay na organization, which the chief PNP naman accepted his apology," he continued.
Caramat also said there's currently a "marching order" by the PNP chief "to exert all our efforts to locate Miss Camilon—whether alive or dead."
Now under restrictive custody at the headquarters of the Police Regional Office 4A, De Castro is among the four suspects who have been sued for kidnapping and illegal detention in connection to Camilon's disappearance. His personal driver and bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay as well as two John Does are also facing the same complaints.
According to a testimony by Camilon's friend, De Castro was chatting with Camilon before she was reported missing. "Allegedly, before nawala si Miss Camilon ay siya 'yung tatagpuin niya. Gusto nang makipaghiwalay kay Maj. Allan de Castro at maybe this is one of the reasons siguro bakit nag-away sila," Caramat previously told GMA's 24 Oras.
Two witnesses, who recently came forward to help with the investigation, said Magpantay was one of the three men that they spotted transferring a bloodied woman from one vehicle to another the night before Camilon disappeared. The sports utility vehicle tagged in the case has been recovered by the Batangas City Police Station at a vacant lot along the corner of Dumuclay Road and Star Tollway in Barangay Pallocan East.
Police are looking into new evidence in the case after discovering 17 strands of hair and blood samples in the car as well as screenshots of messages that reveal the beauty queen was being abused by De Castro.
In a Facebook post on Oct. 13, Catherine's sister Chin-Chin called on the beauty queen's colleague who was with her the night before she went missing to help them reach her. Chin-Chin said Catherine called at 8 p.m. on Oct. 12, but her phone went dead the next morning.
Catherine, who hails from Tuy in Batangas, was last spotted in a shopping mall in Lemery on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m., hours before she was reported missing. She, however, last told her mother Rosario that she was at a gasoline station in Bauan.
The beauty queen said she’d go to Batangas City for a meeting with Balisong Channel, an online media company where she was a former talent. But Balisong Channel said Catherine didn't visit its office and was last there on Dec. 13, 2021.
Catherine joined Miss Grand Philippines last July, during which Nikki De Moura of Cagayan de Oro won the crown.
Aside from being a beauty queen, Catherine is also a public school teacher in Tuy.