Objection up as Tan bros seek to nullify arrest warrant
Members of the prosecution panel in the celebrated massacre of Filipino-Chinese businessman Francisco "Bobby" Tan, wife Cindy Zayco and six-year old daughter Katherine are out to pose an objection on the latest legal development involving the principal suspects.
Following the issuance of an arrest warrant on brothers Archie and Jan Michael Tan, sons of Bobby from a former girlfriend, the duo through counsel moved to nullify said arrest orders before the Court of Appeals (CA).
In a Certiorari filed by the suspects' legal team, the CA's intervention was sought as a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was correspondingly petitioned to put a stay on the Tan brothers' impending arrest.
Prosecution lawyer Cornelio Panes in an interview yesterday, told The News Today (TNT) that strong objection will be posed even as official order from the CA has yet to be received.
However pending any TRO or CA order, Panes stressed that the arrest of Tan brothers based on the arrest warrants issued stands and can be effected anytime, anywhere in the Philippines.
To recall, fears and suspicion abound that the suspects have fled the country. With a hold-order issued by the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID), government agents on the prowl of the two brothers worked on validating tips from civilian informants on supposed sightings of the duo around the region. Latest reports placed both Archie and Jan Michael in a secluded beach resort in San Joaquin, Iloilo.
A couple of weeks back surviving Zayco-Tan children and heirs to the multi-million family estate also appeared as witnesses against family patriarch, prominent Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Conchita Tan. This, as the children manifested strong objection in Court on Conchita's appointment as administrator of Tan wealth.
Partial inventory placed the family wealth at an estimated value of at least P500 million which are mostly in real property assets scattered throughout Iloilo. There is also a "special account" of available cash where current request has been made for a total of P124,000 in monthly allowance. The Zayco-Tan children following the grisly killings of their parents and six year-old sister Katherine in January last year have since been under a specific monthly financial support pending Court litigation on who should have the permanent title as full-time family administrator. All five surviving children and living heirs are with the maternal side of the family in Negros Occidental.