Police still on the lookout for culprits in Tan massacre
PNP Regional Director Doroteo Reyes II
(extreme right) talks with some of Tan's
workers at the mansion.
Iloilo City -- Police are still on the lookout for the culprits in the gruesome murder of Filipino-Chinese businessman Francisco "Bobby" Tan, his wife Cynthia Marie and six-year old daughter Catherine inside their house in M.H. Del Pilar Street, Molo, Iloilo City Sunday night.
Contrary to the statement of the legal counsel of the Tan family, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has yet to clear any member of the family who were in the mansion during the time of the killings.
Chief Supt. Doroteo Reyes II, PNP director for Western Visayas yesterday (Tuesday) refused to categorically affirm the statement earlier made by Atty. Leonardo Jiz, legal counsel and spokesperson of the Tan family absolving any member of Tan's household from the crime. (See related story)
Reyes said his men bank on scientific investigation as there is no witness to the commission of the crime. He said probers mainly poured over forensic evidences left by still unidentified suspects.
Joint elements from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Police Regional Office (PRO 6), and Iloilo City Police Office's Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) handle the celebrated case.
Reyes stressed that no one from the Tan family, particularly Bobby's children by first marriage Archie (23) and John Michael (18), are pinpointed as suspects on the murder but they are not in either way free from the conduct of the investigation.
"It's unfortunate that we have to tag them as suspects but their statements could be used in the conduct of the investigation," Reyes pointed.
Reyes said the probers have already extracted statements from at least 22 persons living in the mansion to include Archie, John Michael, four housemaids, one houseboy, two security guards and Tan's five children by second marriage.
Senior Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Deputy Regional Director for Operations, said initial investigations show a strong indication that the crime was an inside job committed by one or two persons. He said investigators found no sign of forcible entry into the mansion.
Reyes disclosed that Archie and John Michael yielded negative on the drug test conducted by the Police Crime Laboratory. They used urine sample during the test.
However, Reyes said, the two were also subjected to another drug test using their blood samples. The specimen were brought to Camp Crame in Manila and the results of the test are expected to be out in three to four days.
The t-shirt with blood stains recovered in one of the rooms in the second floor of the mansion was also brought to Camp Crame to check whether it has the victim's blood. The shirt was already washed but traces of blood are still on it when found by probers.
Probers refused to made public on whose room the shirt was found but said it was found in one of the rooms occupied by Tan's sons.
Aside from the shirt, probers also found a pair of used cotton hand gloves in one of the rooms in the second floor and another pair of unused cotton hand gloves in one of the cars owned by Tan. Investigators are trying to extract laser prints on the recoveries. While, the murder weapons have yet to be found.
A polygraph machine was also brought to Tan's house to subject all the members of the family including all their workers to a lie detector test. The lie detector test is supposed to be conducted last Monday but the families begged off as they are still in the "state of shock." The test is set Tuesday.
Although everything is still sketchy Reyes believed that they will have a tight case against the suspects. He made sure that justice will be given to the victims and perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Reyes said all the evidences gathered by the different investigating units would be collated.
He added, there will be a case conference to fix the loopholes in the investigation prior to the filing of the appropriate charges against the suspects.
Mayor Jerry P. Treņas earlier called on the police to immediately find the suspects to the gruesome murder and to have the case immediately closed.
He likewise allayed the fears of other Filipino-Chinese businessman as regards the city's peace and order situation saying the gruesome murder was an isolated case.
The Iloilo Business Club and the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Iloilo Chapter also sounded the alarm and called on the police to immediately solve the case so they could have peace of mind.
Bobby, 48, his wife Cindy, 30, and their 6-year old daughter Cathy were found dead inside their house around 3:30 a.m. of Monday by Archie and John Michael who allegedly just came in from a night out.
The siblings immediately called the attention of their security guard Ramil Loveriza then reported to the police the incident.
Bobby was found bathe in his blood inside the master's bedroom, daughter Cathy near the door and wife Cindy inside Archie's room.
Police reports say Bobby had seven stabwounds, Cindy 3 stabwounds and Cathy, 4. All the stabwounds were concentrated in the chest area.
All three victims were rushed to the nearby Iloilo Doctors Hospital where hospital authorities declared the trio dead on arrival.
Security guard Loveriza earlier told investigators that he saw Archie and John Michael jumped out of the wall at the back of the mansion around 12 midnight for a night out. The two returned around 3:30 a.m.
Latest report gathered by The News Today revealed that extra security has now been provided for the surviving members of the Tan family.