NBI wants own autopsy exam on Failon’s wife

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is planning to conduct its own autopsy on Ted Failon's (Mario Teodoro Failon Etong) wife, Trinidad, to finally resolve the real reason behind her death. In his report aired over GMA News' "24 Oras," John Consulta quoted Special Task Force head Arnel Dalumpines as saying that they will ask the Failon family for permission to do a third autopsy. If turned down, he said they would just look into the result of the autopsy examinations conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Failon-tapped forensic expert, Dr. Raquel Fortun. "Tingnan ko muna yung unang report nila [tapos] i-ano namin sa aming mga expert dito [will first look at their reports then we’ll forward it to our experts here]," Dalumpines said. The investigation into the Failon case was transferred to the NBI Monday after the police officials handling the case earned flak for alleged excesses and manhandling Failon’s relatives and household help. The report said the agency had already received copies of the statements of the witnesses and other pieces of evidence gathered by the PNP. Despite this, the NBI said they wanted to go back to Failon’s residence in Tierra Pura in Quezon City and inspect anew the crime scene, particularly the bathroom were Etong was found lying in a pool of blood. Dalumpines said they are also considering getting statements directly from Failon, his relatives, and household help to ensure consistency from their previous statement submitted to the police. “Lahat ng ano diyan ipapatawag namin, hihingin namin ‘yung side nila. Lahat ng angulo titingnan namin [we will invite all of them, we will ask for their side. We will look at all possible angles]," Dalumpines said. Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV