NBI completes forensic examination on Dacera

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has completed the forensic examination of tissues taken from the remains of 23-year-old flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced yesterday.

Guevarra said he would leave it to the NBI to release the results of the forensic examination and second autopsy on Dacera.

Based on the information given by the NBI, Guevarra said the forensic team extracted tissue samples from Dacera’s internal organs as well as urine to check for the presence of illegal drugs or alcohol.

Earlier, forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun said the extraction raised more questions as the police had reported that Dacera’s bladder was empty.

Guevarra said the NBI would be comparing its findings with the Makati Medical Center where Dacera was taken after she was found unconscious in the bathtub of the City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati on Jan. 1 after partying with her friends.

The NBI would also look into the data in the mobile phones of the respondents in Dacera’s death.

“The NBI digital forensic team will examine the information in the cell phones of the persons of interest,” the justice secretary said.

The NBI has also finished the investigation of at least 12 occupants of room 2207 that Dacera visited several times before she was found unconscious.

Dacera and her friends stayed at room 2209 of the hotel.

Guevarra said five of the 11 men facing charges of homicide with rape before the Makati prosecutor’s office tested negative for shabu and tetrahydrocannabinol, a chemical found in marijuana or cannabis.

They are Clark Rapinan, Rommel Galido, John Pascual dela Serna III, Alain Chen, also known as Valentine Rosales and Gregorio Angelo de Guzman.

“I understand that some of them have undergone drug testing. The rest will also be tested. I will leave it to the NBI to divulge the results,” Guevarra said.

On Sunday, National Capital Region Police Office acting director Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. urged those who may have knowledge of the incident to surface “so the truth would be exposed.”

“We are still gathering evidence and witnesses who could give a clearer picture on what really happened that day,” Danao said.

Dacera’s family believed that she was drugged, which caused her death from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva