The Makati police filed charges of homicide and provisional rape yesterday against 11 men in connection with the death of flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera on New Year’s Day.
An employee of Philippine Airlines, the 23-year-old victim was found lifeless in a Makati hotel bathtub after spending the night partying with her colleagues and acquaintances. She was brought to Makati Medical Center for treatment but was declared dead on arrival. The authorities said her body had abrasions and hematoma, and there were indications that she was sexually assaulted.
Read: Philippine Airlines flight attendant found dead in Makati hotel
Makati police chief Colonel Harold Depositar told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that they are filing cases of provisional rape because they have yet to receive the autopsy and toxicology results, which are scheduled to be released today. Depositar insisted that the rape charge had a basis, saying that Christine had “lacerations and sperm in her genitalia.”
He added that the victim technically died of an aneurysm, but there had been factors that led to it.
As of today, only three of the suspects have been arrested by the police: John Pascual dela Serna III, 27; Rommel Daluro Galido, 29; and John Paul Reyes Halili, 25. The Makati police have yet to find the remaining eight suspects.
In an interview with news program 24 Oras, Sharon Dacera, the victim’s mother, said she allowed Christine to go to the party because she trusted her daughter’s colleagues.
“I didn’t have any presumptions that something will happen to my daughter because she was with other flight attendants,” Sharon said.
“Why did they have to do that to my child? I want to seek justice. Justice for my daughter and I hope the same thing doesn’t happen to their child. They raped my child. I hope this doesn’t happen to their sibling, to their children. I don’t want any more victims,” she added.
Coconuts Manila reached out to the Makati police but the investigating officer assigned to the case was unavailable.
