In deference to the Holy Week, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa ordered the release of Maj. Allan de Castro, principal suspect in the disappearance of beauty queen Catherine Camilon, from Senate detention.
Dela Rosa explained that he is not of “pusong bato (heart of stone),” although his moniker is “Bato.”
In releasing De Castro, the senator said it would be “heartless “for him to let the policeman languish in jail while Congress goes on the Lenten break until Apr. 29.
In a phone interview, Dela Rosa related that De Castro broke down in tears when he visited him on Thursday.
“Umiyak nang todo nang makita ako (He cried unabashedly when he saw me),” he said.
While weeping, De Castro repeatedly professed his innocence, insisting that Camilo was not his girffriend and “they have no relationship,” Dela Rosa recalled.
In last Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Public Order and Illegal Drugs committee, Sen. Robin Padilla moved to cite De Castro in contempt for lying to which Dela Rosa agreed.
“This is purely my decision,”Dela Rosa said, adding there was no need for De Castro’s presence in the Senate which goes on a one-month recess during the Lenten season.
Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police chief himself, allayed anxieties that De Castro would go into hiding. “He reported when we called him,” Dela Rosa said.