Basketball player Justin Rieta was one of the persons of interest in the Christine Dacera case who went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in Manila on January 13.
Rieta was among the guests in Room 2207 of the City Garden Grand Hotel on January 1, 2021.
Justin Rieta was accompanied by his legal counsel to the NBI office.
In an interview with GMA News, the basketball player Justin Rieta said that he did not see anything strange the day Dacera died.
He is also willing to cooperate in the investigation of the case.
“Hindi ko po kilala yung kabilang room [Room 2209]. Wala po akong kilala sa kanila (I don’t any of them),” said the basketball player Rieta.
Justin Rieta’s statement is the reason why the doubts about the credibility of Rommel Galido and Valentine Rosales have increased due to their stories when they appeared in the media on January 7, 2021.
“Nung nagising ako to check my schedule, mga bandang 2:30 a.m., si Tin lumapit sa akin, then she grabbed my hand, and sabi niya sa akin, ‘Sis punta tayo sa kabila. Check natin kung merong straight guy doon,” Galido said.
“Ako naman, sinamahan ko siya, ‘tapos siguro mga five minutes, six minutes, bumalik din kami agad sa room.”
Basketball player Justin Rieta denies involvement in Dacera’s death
Galido insisted that all of the people checked in at Room 2207 were gay.
Rosales also confirmed in his statement Galido’s observation.
“Napansin nga namin yung mga tao sa 2207, wala naman guwapo ‘tapos mga matata… parang may age na. Bakla pero may mga edad na.
“Sabi ko, ‘Doon na lang tayo sa kabila, wala naman pogi dito.’
“So, pumunta na kami pabalik sa room namin to welcome the new year,” said Rosales.
“Wala po kasi akong kilala at alam ko matatandang bakla sila, wala akong… sorry, sorry sa term pero, yeah, there’s… we did not see any straight guys there,” he added.
It is possible that Rosales was drunk when the tragedy happened so he can no longer remember the whole incident.
Their credibility is at stake as they retracted their earlier statements about the last moments of Dacera’s life.