PNP can’t initiate probe of FPJ death

Despite allegations that the late presidential candidate and actor Fernando Poe Jr. was poisoned, the Philippine National Police (PNP) cannot initiate its own investigation into the matter.

Superintendent Edgardo Wycoco, chief of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said an investigation could be undertaken only if relatives of the actor request such a probe.

"Unless we get a request from any member of (Poe’s) immediate family, we cannot proceed with the investigation into (his) cause of death," Wycoco told reporters.

Earlier this week, sound engineer Jonathan Tiongco claimed Poe did not die of a stroke as declared by doctors who treated the former actor at the St. Luke’s Medical Center. Tiongco claimed Poe died of poisoning and added he had proof to back up his allegations.

Poe died early in the morning of Dec. 14, several days after suffering a stroke while on a drinking spree with friends.

In the event a request to investigate the cause of death is filed, Wycoco said the initial investigation will dwell on the documents, medical history and records of Poe.

Wycoco noted that Poe’s corpse can only be exhumed if documentary evidence is deemed insufficient in pinpointing actual cause of death. — Cecille Suerte Felipe