The legal reckoning arrived during the Department of Justice (DOJ) preliminary investigation. City prosecutors thoroughly reviewed hotel video archives, toxicological reports, witness depositions, and forensic timelines. The state's claims evaporated piece by piece.
In April 2021, the Makati City Prosecutor's Office formally dismissed the complaints for rape and homicide filed against all eleven respondents. The resolution stated that investigators failed to present any biological, documentary, or testimonial evidence establishing that a sexual assault took place, or that any party attendee caused Dacera's fatal aortic rupture. Minor complaints concerning quarantine infractions and hotel compliance were separated, but the central criminal narrative was entirely dismissed.
The ruling exposed the danger of prioritizing public relations triumphs over basic evidentiary rules. Several respondents later filed counter-charges against police officers and private complainants for unlawful arrest, arbitrary detention, and defamation, seeking restitution for lives upended by reckless institutional posturing.
