PNP, NBI should jointly examine Dacera remains -respondents' lawyer

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should work together in examining specimens from flight attendant Christine Dacera's remains, the lawyer for some of her New Year's Eve companions said on Thursday.

"We just want to make this appeal to our law enforcement agencies, particularly the PNP as well as the NBI, to once and for all clear the air and come up with a final resolution or findings on what really caused the death of Ms. Dacera," lawyer Mike Santiago said at a press conference.

"They should conduct a joint examination of the tissues taken from the organs of Ms. Dacera so that once and for all they can both agree on the findings," he added.

Santiago represents some of the men, Dacera's friends, who are accused of rape with homicide in connection with the flight attendant's death.

The PNP and the NBI separately examined the remains of Dacera, who died on January 1 after a New Year's Eve celebration with her friends. The reported cause of death was a ruptured aneurysm in her aorta, but her family believes she was drugged and sexually abused.

The PNP medico legal report submitted to a Makati prosecutor classifies Dacera's demise as a natural death. Dacera's family has questioned the report, saying it contains "irregularities" and was not based on an autopsy.

Santiago said at the same press conference there was "sufficient basis" for the report. He said it was based on a histopathological examination of the tissues from Dacera's organs.

The NBI has not yet made public the results of the autopsy it conducted.

There are now two investigations on the case: one is by a prosecutor in Makati, where Dacera died, as part of a process to determine whether there is enough evidence to believe that a crime was committed, and whether charges should be filed in court.

The NBI is conducting a separate investigation, one ordered by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra who said the initial police probe -- which led to the filing of the complaint before the prosecutor's office -- was "not thorough enough." -MDM, GMA News