Female companion of solon kills self

A female companion of Rep. Victor Sumulong, a nephew of former President Corazon Aquino, committed suicide yesterday inside the Sumulongs’ ancestral home in Antipolo City.

Senior Superintendent Leocadio Santiago, Rizal police director, said Sumulong, who represents the lone congressional district of Antipolo City, submitted himself to an investigation to quelch speculations that he had something to do with the death of his companion, Michelle Sumulong, 31, who had reportedly been suffering from depression.

Santiago said Sumulong willingly subjected himself to a paraffin test conducted by scene-of-the-crime operatives of the Central Police District (CPD), headed by one Senior Inspector Fernandez, to determine whether he had fired a gun recently.

Michelle was last seen alive in the company of Sumulong having breakfast at the ground floor of the politician’s home at the Sumulong compound in Barangay San Roque in Antipolo City.

Superintendent Primitivo Tabujara, Antipolo police chief, said that after taking their meal, the duo proceeded to their room on the second floor, where Sumulong had his blood pressure checked before he went to the bathroom on the ground floor.

"The housemaid who served them their meal noticed nothing unusual while they were eating," Tabujara said.

Tabujara said the housemaid said she heard a loud thud coming from the couple’s room at about 10:30 a.m.

The housemaid informed Sumulong about it, and he, in turn, ordered her and another housemaid to forcibly open the room.

Minutes later, shouts of the two housemaids were heard inside Sumulong’s residence.

Michelle was found slumped on the couple’s bed, with blood oozing from a gunshot wound in her right temple. A 9-mm. automatic pistol was found atop the bed, Tabujara said.

Michelle, clad in maong pants, blue t-shirt and tennis shoes, was rushed to the nearby Unciano Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival, police said.

Tabujara said Michelle was suffering from depression. She was admitted to a hospital in Manila last Sunday for depression.

He said no witnesses came forward to say that Sumulong and Michelle had any quarrel.

When contacted, Sumulong’s staffers at the Batasan Pambansa refused to say anything about the incident.

However, a certain Nelia Daniel, who identified herself as a member of Sumulong’s staff, said in a radio interview that Michelle was suffering from a severe case of diabetes. — With Paolo Romero