Brothers and sisters, at the start of the New Year, the death of 23-year-old flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera dominated the news. She was found lifeless in a hotel bathtub in Makati after a New Year’s party with her friends. After five days, the Philippine National Police declared her case “solved” after arresting three of her friends whom they pointed as suspects and accused them of rape with homicide. Because of this, the issue of rape is once again being loudly discussed. But where’s the evidence that determines what truly happened?
According to PNP Chief Debold Sinas, he thinks the girl was raped because of the bruises, lacerations, and fluids found in Christine’s body. But it seems he cannot reveal the evidence to prove this conclusion, as the investigation is still ongoing. “We have evidence that we could not reveal now,” Sinas said.
On the same day that PNP Chief Sinas reported that the girl was raped, Makati Chief Harold Depositar said that it was an aortic aneurism or the sudden burst of a vein in the heart that caused the death of Dacera. This was most likely the result of the high alcohol level in her body. But according to Christine’s family, the autopsy conducted on her remains was not complete and comprehensive.
After the PNP’s extension of 72 hours for the suspects to surrender, with the threat to conduct a manhunt for them, Makati City’s Prosecutor’s office ordered the release of the three suspects on January 6 due to the lack of evidence to prove their crime of raping the girl and if they were truly involved. This issue on what happened to Christine further heated up alongside politicians’ offers of reward for anyone who can give information on the whereabouts of the remaining suspects. As for the released suspects, they said they didn’t commit any crime at all. Meanwhile, Christine’s family is still looking for clarity on what truly happened to her, and for justice if there is anyone guilty of the crime.
The Catholic Church believes that there is no justice without truth. In the Catholic social teaching, justice and truth are needed to rebuild severed relations brought by crime or conflict. As said in St. John XXIII’s encyclical, “… [For] the order [to] prevail in human society… its foundation is truth, and it must be brought into effect by justice.” Punishing those who committed the crime, which must be proven in court beyond reasonable doubt, is the way of justice.
Which is why it is important to press: Where is the evidence? After discussions involving so many people on social media, debating whether or not the girl was raped or that aneurism was really the cause of her death, accompanied by heated arguments that lead to wrongful blaming of the girl being raped, we are deviated from determining the responsibility of the government to properly continue the investigation. The contradicting statements among the police add to the confusion and doubt, which tarnishes the credibility of the agency. It is unreasonable to declare a case “solved” based only on the perspective of the highest police official without sufficient evidence.
Brothers and sisters, as the investigation continues, we must not base our judgement on speculations or news reports without strong evidence. We need to find the truth. As 2 John 1:2 said, “the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.”
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