Initial probe shows no foul play in rookie cop’s death

By Jennifer P. Rendon

There was no foul play in the death of a rookie policeman whose body was found in a secluded area in Miag-ao, Iloilo on July 20, 2021, based on initial investigation.

Captain Marvin Buenavista, Miag-ao police chief, said that the evidence and testimonies they gathered did not point that someone may have killed Patrolman Marvin del Castillo.

But still, Buenavista declined to rule suicide as the motive of the incident claiming that it could only be reached once scientific evidence are on hand.

He said that the PNP Regional Crime Laboratory 6 (RCL-6) has yet to release the results of the autopsy, ballistic test, and paraffin examination.

Buenavista also did not confirm reports that del Castillo ran into financial problems after he got hooked to online gambling, particularly sabong or cockfighting.

His live-in partner was quoted to have said that she has repeatedly asked del Castillo to stop his online sabong games.

Del Castillo’s fellow cops at San Joaquin Police Station only described the newbie as a good man but secretive.

The body of 27-year-old del Castillo, a police trainee detailed to the San Joaquin Police Station, was found around 8 a.m. Tuesday, several hours after he failed to return home.

A resident of Barangay Devera, Sara, Iloilo, he was living with his common-law wife at Purok 2, San Joaquin at the time of the incident.

The victim was part of the Pre Basic Internal Security Operation Course (BISOC) trainees sent to different police stations in Iloilo province.

Aside from the gunshot injury, no other wound was found on his body.

A PNP-issued caliber .9mm pistol, a bottle of whiskey, and a bottle of mineral water were found next to him.