All in Failon household are suspects, says NCRPO chief

MANILA, Philippines – National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales on Thursday said that everyone residing at broadcaster Ted Failon’s residence would be treated as a suspect in the shooting of Failon’s wife, Trinidad Etong. "Everyone there is a suspect because it [incident] happened inside the house," Rosales said in a press conference at Camp Karingal in Quezon City. Rosales was referring to Failon (Teodoro Etong), and members of the Failon household: driver Glenn Pulam and house helpers Pacifico Apacible, a certain “Frida" and a certain “Carlota." "Kasi may krimen sa loob ng bahay. And who are the persons there at the time? Sino ba yun? All of them are suspects right now. Pero di natin sinasabi na si Ted Failon o ang mga katulong niya ang gumawa. They’re all suspects," Rosales told reporters. [A crime occurred inside the house. And who are the persons there at the time? All of those present at the time are suspects now. But we are not saying that Ted Failon and his helpers committed the shooting. They’re all suspects.] Rosales issued the statement even as Failon had claimed that when he arrived home from his radio program on Wednesday, he saw his bloodied wife lying on the bathroom floor. "Hindi ko tinapos ang aking programa sa dzMM kaninang umaga matapos kong makausap ang aking asawa sa telepono kaya umuwi ako kaagad at natagpuan kong nakakandado ang pinto ng banyo. Pinabuksan ko ang pinto at natagpuan ko ang aking asawa na duguan kung kaya’t tinakbo ko siya agad sa hospital," Failon said in a statement issued Wednesday. [I didn't finish my program on dzMM this morning after I talked to my wife over the phone. I went home at once and I found that the bathroom door was locked. I had the door opened and I found my bloodied wife thus I rushed her to the hospital.] In a radio interview on Thursday, Failon’s daughter, Kaye Etong, said she believes that her mother attempted to commit suicide and that her father was not in their house when the shooting occurred. "That my father killed my mother is a stupid idea. My father was not in our house when the shooting happened. Isn’t he supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?...It was a self-inflicted incident. My mother tried to commit suicide by shooting herself in the head," Kaye said in an interview on dzMM radio. As of this posting, Trinidad is fighting for her life at the New Era General Hospital in Quezon City. Paraffin test In the same press conference, Rosales said that the paraffin test conducted on Failon yielded negative results, but still inconclusive. "Yung paraffin test kay Ted Failon yielded negative but it is not yet conclusive," he said. Rosales said that investigation on the incident is still underway and that the police are still gathering evidence to determine the nature of Trinidad’s shooting. The police official added that they have "pieces of evidences which might disagree with the statements of Failon." For her part, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) head Persida Rueda Acosta said there was no direct evidence pointing to Failon as the one who shot Trinidad. Acosta accompanied Failon back to the New Era Hospital from Camp Karingal after his statement was notarized. In a separate press conference, Acosta said that the sworn statements of Failon and his driver Glenn “jived." "Nag-jive po naman, wala pong direct evidence na nagtuturo dito kay Mr. Failon," Acosta said. The PAO temporarily served as Failon’s lawyer after dzMM officials contacted the PAO on Wednesday afternoon to notarize the sworn statements, Acosta said. Acosta added they are still waiting for the sworn statements of the household helpers and Trinidad’s sister who allegedly knew of Trinidad’s supposed plan to commit suicide. Suicide? At Camp Karingal, Rosales said the note supposedly written by Trinidad on Tuesday was not necessarily a suicide note. "It’s a sorry note," Rosales said, noting that the writer who called herself “Mama" repeatedly apologized to a certain “Papa." Rosales said police are still investigating whether it was Trinidad herself who wrote the note, which read: "Papa, I’m so sorry. Gustung-gusto ko ang magsabi sa iyo ng totoo pero hindi ko po alam kung paano uumpisahan. Sobrang takut na takot ako. Umalis muna ako, kasi hindi ko kaya at nahihiya akong humarap sa iyo. Sana po mapatawad mo ako, papa. Sorry, sorry papa – Mama." [Papa, I’m so sorry. I really want to tell you the truth but I don’t know where to start. I am so scared. I left home because I cannot take it anymore and I don’t think I can face you. I hope you can forgive me, papa. Sorry, sorry papa – Mama.] In the radio interview earlier, Kaye said she believes it was her mother who wrote the letter. "I know my mother’s handwriting. Noong nakita ko yung sulat, alam ko po na 'yun ang sulat ni Mama [When I saw the letter, I knew that it was she who wrote it]," Kaye said. Acosta said that based on the assessment of PAO’s forensic expert, "Generally, this is a case of suicide. Ang tama kasi ni misis, talagang compatible sa suicide [Her gunshot wound would indicate she attempted to commit suicide." According to Acosta, Trinidad might have tried to kill herself due to financial problems. Fair probe Rosales assured that the investigation would be fair and would follow due process. "Walang sacred cow [There will be no sacred cow]...I would like to emphasize that we would treat this (investigation) just like any other (investigation)," Rosales said. Asked whether the police would file a case against Failon, Rosales said: "After we examine the pieces of evidence, that’s the time you will be able to build (a case) or not. We have to wait for the final results of the evidence." Still, Acosta reiterated that the police have no reason to detain Failon since there are no charges filed yet and no warrant of arrest and no memorandum order. "As far as Failon is concerned, it is my opinion na wala pong rason para ikulong siya [there is no reason to detain him]," she said. - with a report from Katrina Elaine Alba, GMANews.TV