KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 10 January)— Christine Angelica Dacera, the flight attendant who was initially reported to have been a victim of rape-slay in Makati City, was laid to rest at 10:40 a.m. Sunday in her hometown General Santos City.
About a hundred family members and close friends sent the 23-year-old to her final resting place at the Forest Lake Memorial Park amid tight security provided by police and military personnel.
“We love you so much our baby Ica… We are praying for justice for our baby Ica,” said Sharon, calling her daughter by her nickname.
Sharon said they will continue to seek justice for her daughter, the second of four siblings, who was found dead in a hotel room in Makati City noon of January 1, after a New Year party with friends.
Dacera was laid to rest three days after her remains arrived in General Santos on Thursday via Philippine Airlines, where she worked as stewardess until her death.
Sharon reiterated that her daughter, who finished BA Communication Arts, Cum Laude, at the University of the Philippines – Mindanao in Davao City, worked as a flight attendant for her dream to tour her family around the globe.
Clad mostly in white shirts, those who attended the burial wore face masks and face shields and were required to maintain distance to avoid the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Throughout the hour-long burial rites, the memorial park management repeatedly reminded the small crowd to observe physical distancing, with a policeman directing those who viewed Dacera’s remains for the last time, to observe the distance.
Sharon thanked those who offered prayers for the repose of her daughter’s soul and those who sympathized to ease the pain of the family.
The Dacera family disputed the findings of the Southern Police District that she died of ruptured aortic aneurysm.
The family sought another autopsy, with the results expected this week.
National police chief Gen. Debold Sinas suspected that Dacera was a victim of rape-slay, differing with the medicolegal report of the Southern Police District Laboratory Office.
The police initially tagged 11 persons, all males with some admitting they are gays, as suspects in Dacera’s death.
Last Wednesday, the Makati police released three suspects in custody after state prosecutors ordered them freed, as the evidence presented was considered “insufficient.”
The Makati City Prosecutor’s Office scheduled the preliminary investigation for the Dacera case on January 13. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
