FOR RETRACTING STATEMENTS

Respondents in Dacera case could face perjury, NCRPO chief says

The respondents in the Christine Dacera case could be charged with perjury for retracting some of their statements regarding her death, the acting head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Thursday.

"Well, nasa kanila 'yun. Puwede silang file-an ng perjury kasi under oath 'yun na sinabi nila," Acting NCRPO director Police Brigadier General Vicente Danao said in an ambush interview.

Dacera, a 23-year-old flight attendant, was found unconscious in the bathtub of a Makati City hotel room on January 1, following a New Year’s celebration with her friends.

She was declared dead at the hospital and the reported cause of death was a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Her family, however, believes she was drugged and sexually abused. Her friends who were with her before she died, on the other hand, claim they did not rape or kill her.

Danao denied the respondents' claim that they were forced to lie by the Makati police in exchange for freedom.

According to him, he already talked to Police Colonel Harold Depositar, chief of the Makati City police, about the issue and the latter insisted that the respondents were not coerced.

Danao also pointed out that the respondents, in their social media posts, have never mentioned that they were intimidated by the police.

"They have been coming out sa different social media and the same story ang sinasabi nila and noong nagsabi naman sila during their interviews at saka 'yung mga information na inilabas nila sa kanilang Facebook page mismo, wala naman sila nakuwento na nabugbog sila," Danao said.

"Eh bakit ngayon biglang nagkaroon ng bugbugan? Hindi natin alam for whatever reason... sila lang nakakaalam pero as far as the Makati City Police Station is concerned, per information coming from the chief of police himself, there is no such thing as bugbugan, coercion or anything about drugs na kinoerce sa kanila na ibigay na salaysay. There is nothing na ganoon na nangyari," he added.

In a press conference Wednesday evening, Rommel Galido, one of the respondents, claimed he was “forced” by the cops into lying and accusing a certain individual of putting something into Dacera's drink during the group's New Year's celebration.

Galido earlier said Dacera had informed him during the celebration that a certain Mark Anthony Rosales put something in her drink that made her feel unwell. According to him, he was just forced by the policemen to identify Rosales. —KBK, GMA News