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PAO sees ‘conflict’ between PNP, NBI evidence in Cebu teen slay case


The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) on Thursday said it sees "conflict" between the evidence produced by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and that by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in connection with the murder of Cebu teen Christine Silawan.

Erwin Erfe, the chief of the PAO's forensic team, said the PNP has two eyewitnesses, while the NBI complaint rests on circumstantial evidence, such as an underage suspect's digital footprint and CCTV footage.

The PAO has stepped in as lawyer for the parents of 16-year-old Christine Silawan, who was found dead in a vacant lot in Lapu-Lapu City with multiple stab wounds and a skinned face last week.

The NBI has arrested Silawan's 17-year-old ex-boyfriend and filed a murder complaint against the minor. Erfe said the PAO was surprised by the filing and saw an "insufficiency" in the NBI complaint, though they appreciated its digital footprint evidence.

On the other hand, he said the PNP investigation is "leading in the right track."

Describing another inconsistency, Erfe said an eyewitness recounted that Silawan had been raped, while a medico-legal officer found otherwise.

"Gusto natin palakasin yung kaso, kasi we are working para doon sa biktima at sa kanyang pamilya," Erfe told reporters in an interview.

"We're trying to piece every evidence that we could get into para maging consistent 'yung kaso na ifi-file," he said. — BM, GMA News

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