Sun.Star: 6 probed for La Salle student's death

MANILA, Philippines - At least six students of the De La Salle-Santiago Zobel (DLSZ) School were placed under police investigation for the fatal fall of fellow student Ambrosio Gregorio Robles from the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. Robles, a graduating high school student, fell off the sixth floor porch of the hotel before dawn of March 9. Police report said it could have been an accident. Under investigation were Robles's roommates at Room 653, where they checked in after attending a graduation ball at the luxurious hotel the night before. "We believe these students did not tell us entirely what happened or what they saw or worst, they could be hiding something," said a police investigator, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case. Pasay Police Chief Marietto Valerio confirmed that the DLSZ students are being investigated but stopped short in saying they were looking into their possible criminal liability. He said the possibility of foul play in Robles's death is "negative as of now" as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Pasay police have yet to wrap up its investigation. Case investigator Reynaldo Aguba earlier said they have ruled out the suicide theory in Robles's fall as there were no indications that he had problems in family or school that could have prompted him to take his own life. He said Robles, who belongs to a well-off family, even passed a college entrance examination in the US. A police source said videos taken by the hotel's CCTV cameras showed that the de la Salle students are playing around the sixth floor lobby past midnight of March 9. The students occupied rooms 653, 654, and 651, the police investigator said. Aguba said the students, whom he declined to identify, were running in and out of the rooms. "We don't know if Robles could have fallen off their room's porch while they were playing around," the source added. In their initial statements to police, the students claimed they were asleep and did not see Robles sat and fell off the porch of Room 653. Valerio, however, said if Robles could have accidentally fallen off the hotel, it was not seen in the cameras. Aguba, on the other hand, begged off from revealing any information, saying they would have to complete their investigation first. - Sun.Star