ABS CBN's TV Patrol and Bandila turned The Buzz?

With the current crisis that TV Patrol news anchor, Ted Failon is facing, I am utterly outraged at how the ABS CBN news team is dealing with the situation.

They have been using their programs to vindicate Failon and to deliver a propaganda on his favor. I am also dumbfounded at how they easily manipulate the "news" to paint the picture that the police officers are terribly unreasonable and violent in handling this case.

I'm sorry to say this but I probably saw Korina Sanches' worst form last night, April 16 in Bandila as she was "interviewing" Kaye Etong (Failon's eldest daughter). I was bewildered at how she maneuvered the "interview" to convince their viewers that the police are the culprits in this case and she was even driving the point that the police were the ones responsible for the death of Trinidad Etong.

I have compared the news reports of ABS CBN with the reports of GMA and Philippine Daily Inquirer and I noticed there were some information that were withheld by ABS. Considering that they are the only ones granted "exclusive" coverage and interviews with Failon camp I couldn't understand why their stories lack substance and the other stations could come up with more "facts" even though they are only allowed limited acess to this story.

ABS CBN's news reports veer away from the facts and the investigation. They instead cater to the more emotional side of the story. Is this their tactic to get the public's sympathy? Because of this, they have ceased to be a news team and turned into showbiz where a strong hunch and emotion can pass off as "news".

I thought that news is supposed to be objective, without bias, and professional.

Failon thinks the police are pursuing him because of his job as a broadcaster. (Recently Failon had been very vocal with regards to his disgust at the PNP regarding the EDSA shootout). But the way I see it, Failon is expecting special treatment as a famous news anchor and he is upset that the police are not taking his word when he said that his wife commited suicide and he has nothing to do with it. The police are merely doing their job. I remember Gil Grisom (CSI Vegas) once said that everyone who happened to be at the crime scene is considered a suspect and should of course be investigated. And any suicide case is not exempted from police investigation. Which is what the police are doing. However since the Etong clan are not cooperative then the police would have to result to something more drastic. Good luck to the QCPD (Quezon City Police Deprtment) if Ted Failon wins in the 2010 Senatorial race.

While I understand that Ted Failon is their very good friend, they should not let the credibility of their programs as well as their credibility as broadcasters be compromised.

Suicide or Homicide?

The general content of the news since yesterday, April 15 is about the alleged "suicide" of Ted Failon's wife, Trinidad Etong and his suspected involvement in it.

As per Teodoro Etong's (Failon's real name) statement “Hindi ko tinapos ang aking programa sa dzMM kaninang umaga matapos kong makausap ang aking asawa sa telepono kaya umuwi ako kaagad at natagpuan kong nakakandado ang pinto ng banyo. Pinabuksan ko ang pinto at natagpuan ko ang aking asawa na duguan kung kaya’t tinakbo ko siya agad sa hospital".

However despite this statement, the police consider him as a suspect along with the other people who were in the house (Ted Failon, Pamela - Trinidad's sister, 2 helpers, the house boy and the driver) at the time of the incident. These are some of the reasons I know why the police or investigators are doubting the credibility of Failon's statement:

First of all no one reported the incident to the police. I would understand if at the sight of the dying wife they were all still dumbfounded and depressed. However as per their statement, Trinidad was brought to the hospital at 11 AM. The police only found out about the incident at 4PM (correct me if I'm wrong) when the hospital informed them. Why didn't anybody among them ever thought of reporting the incident to the police? They actually had several hours after the incident to do this.

Second, it is terribly outrageous that the household cleaned up the bathroom where the "suicide" was committed. Ted Failon, being in media for a very long time should know that one should never ever tamper with the scene of the "incident". This is crucial in the police's investigation. For this could either implicate him or clear his name. The helpers and the drivers claimed that they did this in their own volition. But somehow I believe that Failon is not unaware when the "clean up" happened.

I also couldn't understand why Failon appears to be uncooperative towards the investigation. I believe that if you're being suspected and you want to be vindicated, you should be willing to let them investigate you for this is the only way to prove your innocence.

Failon allowed himself to undergo paraffin testing where the results proved he was negative for gunpowder burns. The helpers, the house boy and the driver also came out negative.

The latest update also states that the police also conducted paraffin testing on Trinidad Etong and she was also negative for gunpowder burns. Now this is even more baffling.

So... if the person who supposed to have committed suicide is negative for gunpowder burns and so are the suspects, what really happened? Honestly, I think this will be one of the cases that will be left unsolved.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/157157/Whodunit-Police-in-a-bind-over-shooting-of-Failons-wife