No ‘foul play’ angle yet in Quezon gov’s death in Lucena chopper crash — police

The helicopter crash in Lucena City, Quezon that killed incumbent Governor Rafael Nantes and five others last Monday may have been an accident and not politically-related, the head of the Quezon provincial police office said on Tuesday. In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Senior Superintendent Erickson Velasquez said it was “too premature" to declare whether foul play was involved in the crash. “We are looking at all angles, but foul play is not yet included among the possible causes. It’s too premature to say that. What happened was probably a plain accident," said Velasquez. GMA’s partial and unofficial tally as of Tuesday showed Nantes, who is running for reelection, trailing frontrunner David Suarez. Nantes also served as national treasurer of the Liberal Party led by Sen. Benigno Aquino III. Radio dzMM anchor Anthony Taberna said he was supposed to interview Nantes in Manila on Tuesday because the governor was about to make an exposé on the alleged rigging of election results in Quezon province. “Nag-return call siya ng 9:40 a.m. yesterday (Monday). I was asking him about alleged automated dagdag-bawas in Quezon. But he refused to talk further over the phone, saying his phone is bugged. Sabi niya, luluwas siya ngayon (Tuesday) sa Manila to meet with me. He’d divulge something big daw about the elections. End of call was 9:43 a.m.," Taberna said in a text message to GMANews.TV. But the interview never materialized. At about 3:15 p.m. on Monday, the Manila-bound helicopter Nantes was riding crashed at Iyam village in Lucena City shortly after taking off from the Quezon National High School. The pilot, the governor’s two security aides, and two other civilians were killed in the crash. On Tuesday, Velasquez said the crash may have something to do with the chopper’s engine. He added there was no sufficient evidence yet to conclude Nantes’ death was politically-motivated. The provincial police chief likewise said the crash was possibly not connected to the alleged drug transshipment and manufacturing base discovered recently on Icolong Island in Quezon. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV