Alexis Tioseco Case: Robbery or Assasination?

Before I slice Francis "Chiz" Escudero's " Apokalipto" YOUTUBE TVC as another disaster waiting to happen like Mar's " Padyak", let me first write about my initial observations and reactions to the dastardly killing of film critic, Canadian Alexis Tioseco and his live-in partner Slovenian Nica Bohinc.

I sensed something terribly wrong about this. Being a former crime journalist, Tioseco's killing is simply not just a robbery-homicide case. For me, there is something not right with what happened to him and his live-in partner yesterday.

Tioseco and Bohinc were brutally killed when they chanced upon some robbers inside their 39 Times Street home in Quezon City. Tioseco, who is teaching film at the University of Asia and the Pacific, has just arrived home when he saw armed robbers ransacking his house.

Surprised, the robbers immediately opened fire, killing Tioseco and Bohinc. They then boarded the victim's Ford Lynx and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash and valuables.

That's the police version.

Let me pose these questions:

1. I guess that there's police or cops roaming around Times street since that strip is where the Aquinos live. Why was there no cops around that time? Why was the response late by about an hour?

2. Police investigators said that the maid connived with the suspects, that's why they gained entry into the house. If these suspects are really professional robbers, they know the consequences of killing their victims. And, robbers normally don't kill, they just make threats. In this case, Tioseco was killed GANGLAND STYLE.

3. Witnesses say they did not hear gunshots at the time of the killing. Strange, is'nt? Were those robbers armed with guns with silencers? If they were, then, their purpose was not to rob but to KILL.

Tioseco sustained multiple gunshot wounds at close range, meaning, this is NOT an accidental shooting---this case should be thoroughly investigated.

Since the furor over the choice of the four NATIONAL ARTISTS awardees, Tioseco has been very vocal about the mess. Tioseco guested in the award-winning show of Che Che Lazaro " Media In Focus" a few weeks back where he criticized the choice of the awardees. That was his last TV guesting.

And during the rally of artists at the height of the scandal, some National Artists disclosed that thugs were sent by a personality purportedly to kill those who oppose the choice of Mrs. Arroyo of National Artists.

Tioseco has been living here in the Philippines for quite some time and when I asked around, his maid, a certain Criselda, has been the househelp since way back. Why only now that the maid suddenly thought of robbing her employer over some measly film equipment and a few bucks?

Tioseco does not own pieces of jewelry and lives a very simple life. Obviously, he does not have huge sums of money to make a huge impact or interests of big-time and armed robbers.

Hmmmm.......For all those who are concerned, we need to ask cops to look deeper into this case.

Robbery or a simple case of assasination?