Gift bomb victim's ma, husband swap charges

MANILA, Philippines –  The mother of gift bomb victim Yvonne Chua will ask Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo today to investigate Yvonne’s husband, Vinson, in connection with the murder of her daughter last December.

Authorities are eyeing conflict over family properties as a possible motive and Arlene Aquino-Padilla and her son, Arnold, are suspects in the killing.

Vinson had been on the list of suspects but police dropped him from the list after suspected bomb courier Rhea Dalde was charged with murder before the Department of Justice (DOJ). Dalde was a former housemaid of the Padillas.

Vinson, meanwhile, challenged his two in-laws to take a lie detector test to determine who is telling the truth.

Lawyer Raymund Fortun told The STAR over the phone that Padilla will submit “damning evidence” to show that there was bias in the police investigation.

Fortun declined to elaborate about the “documentary evidence” they will give Bacalzo but said it will “give a different angle” in the investigation.

The meeting will be held at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame at 1 p.m.

Yvonne, 31, died on the spot after opening a gift-wrapped package containing five grenades at her house in Taguig City on Dec. 29, 2010.

Dalde was identified by security guard Reynaldo Busalanan as the one who delivered the package to the Chua’s residence in Parañaque City.

Vinson, in an interview with The STAR, said he has “no problem” with a polygraph test as long as Padilla and Arnold will also take the same test with him.

“I’m willing to do that so we’ll know the truth,” Vinson said.

According to previous reports, Padilla has asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to transfer the investigation from the Southern Police District to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Padilla claimed that the police were bent on tagging her and Arnold as the brains behind the murder.