Cops eye family feud in gift bomb incident

The police are pursuing leads that a family feud may have been the motive in the gift-bomb incident that killed a 31-year-old woman in Taguig City on Wednesday. Metro Manila police chief Director Nicanor Bartolome said on Thursday the leads included the death threats sent by mobile phone to victim Yvonne Chua. "May natatanggap na pala itong threat sa kanyang cell phone noong nakaraang araw, pinapalagay niya sa misunderstanding sa pamilya," Bartolome said in an interview on dzRH radio. (Chua received threats on her cell phone in past days but she attributed the threats to a misunderstanding in the family) Chua, 31, was killed after one of three grenades inside a gift-wrapped package exploded in her house in Taguig City before noon on Wednesday. Bartolome cited their findings that a woman who brought the gift to the Chuas' house at Parañaque City claimed to be from the household of Chua's relative. "May nag-abot sa guwardiya na babae na nagpakilala na katulong ng member ng pamilya niya. Yan ang tinututukan nating angulo," he said. (The security guard at the Chuas' house said the woman who brought the gift claimed to be the helper of a relative. That is a lead we are following up.) However, Bartolome admitted that they have yet to establish a definite set of suspects, saying the leads are still being verified at this time. He said the investigators have so far talked to the victim's relatives and neighbors. When asked if Chua had enemies, he said they are building a list of names to follow up. "Merong nababanggit but hindi ma-confirm nang mabuti, may binigay na pangalan, sinama natin sa investigation," he said. (Some names were given but we are still verifying them and including them in our investigation.) The initial investigation had showed the gift was first brought to the Chuas' Parañaque residence on Tuesday night, and that the security guard there received it. The gift was kept there overnight and was then delivered by the family driver to the Chuas' house in Taguig City on Wednesday. Bartolome said Chua was in the real estate business, having commercial buildings in different parts of Metro Manila. Her husband is involved in the export business, he added. In the meantime, Bartolome advised the public to remain vigilant when receiving gifts during the holidays. "Kung may tinanggap na pakete na di kilala o sigurado kanino galing, kailangan mag-ingat sila, inspection-in na mabuti kung may pangalan kung di sila sigurado tawagan nila," he said. (If you receive a package from someone you do not know, be careful and inspect the package carefully. If you have doubts, call the police.) – VVP, GMANews.TV