'Produce the Zayco kids,' Tan matriarch petitions Court
Iloilo -- A petition for habeas corpus was filed by the matriarch of the Tan family over the celebrated Zayco-Tan case. Raffled off to Family Court of Branch 30 6th RTC, Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Conchita Tan thru counsel sought that all of the surviving Zayco-Tan children be presented to Court.
Respondents on this latest legal maneuverings are Supt. Renato Gumban of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the members of the Zayco family. The Petition was officially submitted late Tuesday morning and fell under the jurisdiction of Presiding Judge Adriano Savillo.
The habeas corpus case came amidst continued squabble of the two families divided over the plight of the Zayco children left unhurt when their parents, Bobby and Cindy Zayco-Tan were brutally murdered inside the Tan mansion along MH del Pilar Street, Molo, Iloilo City. Another sibling was violently killed and stabbed numerous times to her death.
The CIDG as lead investigators tagged the two Tan children by Bobby's earlier relationship as suspects.
Michael Zayco, brother of slain victim Cynthia Marie, and his mother Rosalinda, with the assistance of several CIDG personnel, took the five children out of the Tan mansion on January 19, a day after the funeral of the three massacre victims.
The Zaycos brought children Raffy, Karen, Christine, Cathy Lyn, and one-month old Kathlyn to the CIDG office in Camp Delgado then proceeded to the Muelle Loney port where they took a passenger ferry to Bacolod.
The five children are under the custody of the Zayco family up to the present.
Earlier, Conchita Tan complained that the children were taken against her will. She even threatened to file administrative charges against the CIDG men who allegedly took the children "forcefully."
In a related development, Atty. Leonardo Jiz, counsel for the Tan family, reportedly wanted the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a reinvestigation of the case.
In a radio interview, Jiz said Conchita Tan doubts the result of the CIDG investigation which pointed out to her grandchildren, Archie and Jan Michael, as the culprits.
Meanwhile, the Tan family reportedly hired the services of Seigfred Fortun, former lawyer of deposed Pres. Joseph Estrada, to defend 18-year old Jan Michael.
Lawyer Nelia Gonzales, on the other hand, stands counsel to Jan Michael's 23-year old brother Archie.