EDITORIAL - Confusing development in Christine Silawan case

To bolster their claim that the man they arrested was indeed the one behind the murder of Christine Lee Silawan, the police announced that the bloodstains on the pair of scissors that Renato Llenes used to attack the 16-year-old girl had the victim’s DNA.

Brigadier General Debold Sinas, director of Police Regional Office-7, said Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde announced that the blood taken from the scissors had Silawan’s DNA.

Sinas said the test results will be used as additional evidence in the murder charges the police have filed against Llenes. The police hope that they can establish the suspect’s strong connection to the crime, aside from his admission that he killed the girl.

The result of the police’s DNA test further validates their charges against Llenes. However, the National Bureau of Investigation-7 is sticking to the result of its own probe that point to the former boyfriend of Silawan as her killer.

The result of the DNA examination that the NBI conducted on the bloodstains taken from the shoe of Silawan’s former boyfriend seemed to prove he was at the crime scene as it matched with samples taken from her parents.

Considering the evidence that both the PNP and the NBI possess, there’s little chance for the two agencies to consolidate their findings. This means it’s impossible for them to reconcile and file charges against only one suspect in the March 10 killing of Silawan.

Given this development, the public has become confused as to the real score of the Silawan case. While the police are busy racking up evidence against Llenes, the NBI is also seriously building its own case against the girl’s former boyfriend.

At the end of the day, however, it will be up to the court to determine whose case has more weight.