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Social worker in QC killing innocent, supporters say


A week after the brutal death of an employee of a community foundation in Quezon City (QC), the family and colleagues of the primary suspect, Jose Paulo Catacutan, insisted on his innocence. On November 8, Cecilia Lancion, 47, an administrative officer, was murdered at around 7:45 a.m. at the office of the Community Builders Foundation Inc. (CBF) along Scout de Guia street in Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City. Lancion had multiple stab wounds at the back and front parts of her body. She also sustained blows to the head from a hard object. Catacutan has been charged with the murder of Lancion at the QC Regional Trial Court, branch 22. He is currently detained at police headquarters in Camp Karingal, QC. Catacutan's supporters However, Catacutan’s schoolmates from his alma mater, the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), insisted on Catacutan's innocence. In a press conference on Tuesday, they claimed that Catacutan was himself injured when he tried to defend the victim from the real culprit, whom they alleged to be a vagrant named "Rommel." In a statement, the PLM social work graduates from batch 2005 said the police should launch a “serious manhunt operation" to locate a client of the foundation “who would be able to shed light [on] the incident." According to the initial investigation, Catacutan and at least two colleagues likely attacked Lancion, whose cries for help attracted the attention of the neighbors. The witnesses were unable to identify the two other suspects. However, Catacutan claimed that a vagrant "Rommel" was the culprit. Catacutan told the police that Rommel was a client whom he brought to the CBF to be fed. Blood on clothes Catacutan, a 27-year old registered social worker (RSW), was arrested on the day of the murder, when police found him at the scene with blood on his clothes. Witnesses who heard the victim’s cries before she died pointed to Catacutan as the culprit in the crime, according to earlier reports from radio dzBB. Catacutan denied taking part in the assault. However, the police said many witnesses claimed otherwise. Criticizing the media In their statement, Catacutan’s former classmates also pointed out errors in media coverage which they said made “a monster out of the good person" that they know. In a news report aired in TV5’s “Aksyon Ngayon," Catacutan was identified as a client of the CBF. Catacutan is an RSW working for the foundation. In a GMANews.TV report, the victim, Lancion, was identified as a social worker. Lancion was instead an administrative officer of the CBF. "While this could not have affected the case, we still appeal for GMA to correct its statement," Catacutan's classmate said. According to them, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Abante, and other tabloids used “unfair labeling" in their coverage, using phrases such as “kinatay ng kapwa social worker" and “inutas ng mga kabaro" when referring to the case. Catacutan's classmates also said all the media reports neglected to note that Catacutan himself had also been injured, sustaining a cut in his right hand, as he tried to stop Rommel from attacking Lancion. Catacutan is innocent until proven guilty, the PLM graduates told members of the media during a press conference. “Even after being acquitted or vindicated [of] the crime, such branding would forever be in the news archives and web pages where they were so thoughtlessly published," the statement added. - VVP, GMANews.TV

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