Failon wife's kin wait for NBI autopsy results

MANILA, Philippines - A cousin of Trinidad Etong said yesterday the Arteche family maintains her death was a suicide based solely on statements given by members of the household present when she was found with a gunshot wound in her head, but added they will wait for autopsy results from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

“We maintain that it was a suicide because we are adopting the statement given by (Etong’s sister, Pamela Arteche). She was there (at the house of the couple when Etong was found with a gunshot wound in the head),” lawyer Filomeno Arteche III told reporters over the phone.

He, however, admitted their stand on the case was “based solely” on the statements given by Pamela and other members of the household and not on forensic evidence.

Arteche said they are awaiting the release of the findings of the NBI that include the forensic examinations and other pieces of evidence. He said they were “fully cooperating” with the NBI, giving the bureau all the pieces of evidence they could give.

Arteche said they even submitted a video footage showing Etong combing the hair of one of her daughters using her right hand to show that she was ambidextrous. Etong was said to be left-handed but the direction of the gunshot as examined by investigators was from right to left.

Asked whether the family could be swayed to believe in the existence of a foul play in Etong’s death should the findings point in this direction, Arteche said: “That (somebody else killed Etong) would be hard to believe.”

Arteche said investigators should be able to prove it with hard evidence if they were coming out with findings pointing to a foul play.

When asked if Etong had suicidal tendencies, her cousin said: “It’s hard to say if she had suicidal tendencies. It (committing suicide) is a peculiar (actuation).”

At the moment, the lawyer said their family was focused on the hearing at the National Police Commission on the case of grave misconduct filed against policemen who initially handled the case.

Arteche said they would soon be filing another case at the Office of the Ombudsman against the policemen who arrested members of the household and Pamela in relation to the obstruction of justice case the police filed. The obstruction case was later dismissed.

Superintendent Franklin Moises Mabanag, the suspended chief of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, earlier expressed readiness to face the charges.