“Hindi ako mapapagod.”
This was what the sister of missing beauty queen candidate Catherine Camilon said after the police arrested former police major Allan de Castro and his driver in connection with the disappearance after almost a year.
Both are primary suspects in the disappearance case of the Miss Grand Philippines 2023 candidate who represented Tuy, Batangas. She is also a Grade 9 teacher.
Reports said De Castro and his driver-bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay are now at the Batangas Provincial Jail after being arrested on September 14 for their alleged involvement in the beauty queen’s disappearance.
The police said they are facing charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
The evidence against the suspects is reportedly strong, including DNA retrieved from a red sports utility vehicle where a witness claimed to have seen a bloodied Catherine.
The charges against De Castro and Magpantay were initially dropped last May due to lack of evidence, but Catherine’s family filed a motion for reconsideration, which was granted last August.
The court then issued a warrant of arrest on September 4 with no recommended bail.
The development in the case was welcomed by Catherine’s mother, Rose Camilon and her sister, Chin-Chin Camilon, who have been seeking a resolution to the beauty queen candidate’s case since she went missing on Oct. 17, 2023.
“Sana lang alam mo na hindi kami tumitigil makuha ang hustisya na para sa’yo, Catherine,” Chin-Chin wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, September 18, tagging her sister’s account.
“Madami pa ulit proseso ang pagdadaanan, at ‘di mawawalan ng pag-asa na makamit natin ang hustisya sa pagkawala mo,” she added.
“Mahal na mahal kita at hindi ako mapapagod,” Chin-Chin further said with a heart emoji.
In a televised interview, Rose said that she only wanted them to find the truth about her daughter’s disappearance.
“Mahirap makibaka sa buhay na parang, lagi kang linilingon na, hindi mo alam. Mahirap harapin ‘yung buhay na parang may kulang, na hindi mo alam kung ano ba talaga,” she said.
The matriarch also wrote a Facebook post dedicated to Catherine.
“Anak, [hindi] ko alam kung ano ang aking [nararamdaman]. ..halo-halong [isipin]… basta ang alam ko, tuloy-tuloy na ito.. saan ka man [naroon] anak, mahal [na] mahal kita,” Rose said on September 18.
“[Salamat] sa mga taong tumutulong sa atin… CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] salamat po… lalong higit sa ating mahal na Panginoon,” she added.
Meanwhile, Police Colonel Jack Malinao, provincial director of the Batangas Philippine National Police, said that the search for Catherine continues.
“In the course of our investigation, sad to say, wala pa pong… dun lang kami naputol. Doon sa testimony ng dalawang witness. Kung saan isinalin ‘yung kanyang katawan sa isang Nissan Juke to a red CR-V,” he said.
Reports said the beauty queen bet used a gray Nissan Juke, which De Castro owned, before she went missing.
Meanwhile, the suspects allegedly used a red Honda CR-V to transfer Catherine.
“Despite of our continued efforts — and until now, we’re still scouring for witnesses —hopefully, merong makakatulong sa’min. Habang tumatagal, numinipis ‘yung chances namin,” Malinao added.
The case
Catherine was last seen on Oct. 12, 2023 at a shopping mall in Lemery, Batangas. She was reported missing five days later.
She was supposed to meet De Castro, with whom she had a relationship. However, the latter denied this in a counter affidavit.
Malinao previously said the former police officer was allegedly “capable of committing violence” since the latter would sometimes physically harm Catherine, according to her friends.
“He became furious when Catherine allegedly reported to his wife that he has another woman,” Malinao said before.
Witnesses reported seeing Catherine, bloodied and unconscious, being transferred to another car in the vicinity of Bauan town on the night of Oct. 12, 2023, while Magpantay was in the area.
Testing of an abandoned vehicle located in the area by the police contained hair and blood that matched the DNA profile of Catherine’s parents.
Cops previously said they were looking at a possible love angle in the case since Catherine and De Castro’s relationship was supposedly an “open secret.”
The CIDG said there was information she was planning to break up with the former cop, adding it might be the reason why the two met on the day of her disappearance.
