Property dispute seen as motive in Delgado slay

A protracted fight over the division of money and property among the heirs of Don Francisco "Paco" Delgado, who is in his 90s, could have led to the killing of one of his sons last week in Malate, Manila, a ranking Manila police official told The STAR yesterday.

The assailants of 51-year-old Federico Delgado took only cash, jewelry and important documents from his vault, Chief Inspector Alejandro Yanquiling Jr., who heads Manila Police District’s homicide section, said.

"The other valuables inside the room, mostly precious antiques, were spared. So it is not only simple robbery," he added.

A surviving witness, Annalisa Peseco, 20, has furnished a description of the possible mastermind behind Delgado’s killing. She is now under police protection.

Yanquiling said the prime suspect, who is close to the victim’s father, wants to get his share of the inheritance "by hook or by crook."

The elder Delgado has vast interests in shipping, manning services, brokerage, cargo handling, telecommunications and real estate. He has six children from his first marriage, including the victim.

When his first wife died, he married Vicky Quirino Gonzales, who already had four children from a previous marriage. He and Vicky did not have a child, but people close to the family say that the Delgado patriarch treated Gonzales’ children no differently from his own.

According to Yanquiling, the relationship between the elder Delgado’s and Gonzales’ children turned sour when the woman died. Once of her children reportedly wants possession of a condominium building in Rockwell, Makati City, which is owned by the Delgado patriarch.

Gonzales’ children insist the building is conjugal property, Yanquiling said. Police learned the ownership papers for the building were kept by Federico.

Yanquiling said they have received information that "our main suspect is confined at the basement of the Makati Medical Center" while undergoing drug rehabilitation. However, the police cannot question the suspect, since the hospital basement is off-limits to everyone except immediate relatives.

Yanquiling said he will seek the assistance of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay to effect the arrest of the suspect, who is related to Federico.

Peseco, reportedly Federico’s girlfriend, was with him when he was slain Saturday night at the fourth floor of the family-owned Mayflower Building at the corner of Leon Guinto and Estrada Streets in Malate.

Peseco said she managed to get a good look at one of the suspects when he removed his bonnet due to the heat inside the room while opening Francisco’s vault.

Yanquiling also cleared Federico’s brother, Franco, of any involvement in the killing. During the initial investigation, the only lead the police had was the name "Franco" written in blood on the wall.

Yanquiling said the writing is too clear and legible to be written by a dying person, and Francisco’s body "was too far from the wall."