What’s holding up the Catherine Camilon case?
IT’S been more than four months since beauty pageant contestant Catherine Camilon went missing, and to date, all we know of the case is that it is still in the stage of preliminary investigation. While the preliminary investigation supposedly commenced in December last year, it might take a bit longer to finish, as last February 2, the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor’s Office recommended the transfer of the preliminary investigation to the regional state prosecutor in Calabarzon.
The reason given was to avoid the possible influence of the legal counsel of Jeff Magpantay, one of the suspects identified in kidnapping and serious illegal detention complaints, as Magpantay’s counsel was a former assistant provincial prosecutor in Batangas and a former presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 86 in Taal town.
While that is a welcome development, as I stated earlier, we just have to brace ourselves for a longer wait before they conclude their preliminary investigation on Camilon’s case, which could lead to the filing of a case or cases against the suspects.
It may be recalled that Magpantay, alleged to be the driver bodyguard of another suspect, Police Maj. Allan de Castro, who admitted to being in a relationship with Camilon, surrendered to the police last January 9.
De Castro, who has a wife and two kids, was reportedly the person Camilon was supposed to meet on the day of her disappearance, but the police officer has denied it.
According to police, de Castro’s relationship with Camilon was reported to be an abusive one, as manifested in screenshots of abusive messages sent to the beauty queen by the police officer.
Witnesses who came forward said that on October 12 last year, they saw a bloodied Camilon being transferred from her car, a Nissan Juke reportedly given to her by de Castro, to a Honda CRV, adding they saw Magpantay in the area.
The Honda CRV was later found abandoned, and police investigators were able to extract hair and blood samples that matched the DNA profile of Camilon’s parents.
At the time of his surrender, authorities disclosed that Magpantay showed a willingness to “cooperate and subject himself to the appropriate legal processes in relation to the charges filed against him for the crime of kidnapping and illegal detention” of Camilon, who was officially declared a missing person five days after her reported disappearance.
“He submitted himself for investigation. He wants to be in the custody of the PNP for his own safety,” Balayan police acting chief Maj. Domingo Ballesteros said of Magpantay.
However, he quickly added that they were “not restricting or preventing him from leaving,” as Magpantay’s arrest could not be authorized at this time as the investigation was still in its early stages and the necessary warrant had not been issued.
However, more than a month after he surrendered this question begs some answer: What happened to his supposed willingness to cooperate and submission to be investigated?
Surely, the police could have initially subjected him to questioning, and maybe intense questioning, if we don’t want to refer to that as interrogation.
As per Ballesteros’ statement, Magpantay surrendered because he wanted to be in the custody of the PNP for his own safety.
What does Magpantay fear? The PNP needs to justify spending for Magpantay’s custody, so it’s highly probable he gave a statement to substantiate his claim of fear. Otherwise, the PNP should immediately release him if his claim of fear is unfounded.
So, did Magpantay issue a statement or not regarding Camilon’s case that would justify his claim of fear for his life?
Holding a person in police custody entails expenses, and this is people’s money the PNP would be spending for Magpantay’s custody.
I believe Camilon’s parents and siblings are entitled to that piece of information, and so are we, the people. If Camilon’s disappearance remains a mystery up to now, it is because the circumstances behind the investigation leading to the filing of the case remain a bigger mystery.
A new scam of online sellers? Last month, I made an online purchase from Kickscrew for a pair of Ugg boots. I settled the amount that included the shipping fee, which is to be handled by DHL. Last week, I received a message from DHL saying the package was already out for delivery, but I had to pay the amount of P4,827.95 for tariffs and duties, which is almost half the amount I paid for my online purchase.
First, this is the first time I am being charged import duties and taxes for my online purchase, even though I have done that countless times in the past. I don’t know how they charge taxes for online purchases from other countries. All I know is I did not buy it in commercial quantities, nor could this be considered a luxury item.
Then, last Saturday, my sister messaged me that my niece was being charged $386 for her online purchase of a pair of shoes and a couple of shirts for her baby amounting to a measly $155 (compared to the amount of taxes assessed).
Honestly, I don’t know what agency should handle these abuses being committed by online sellers. But the fact remains they should be regulated. And maybe the Bureau of Customs should clarify its mechanisms for assessing import taxes on online purchases intended for personal consumption.