THE family of Ashley Abad has chosen to keep mum on President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks that the 19-year-old was the source of the Ecstasy tablet that eventually killed her last Jan. 20.
Jose Benjamin Abad, Ashley’s uncle, said the family was still coordinating with their lawyer.
“It’s premature for us to... as of now, no comment mi. We are still coordinating with our lawyer and the family and we will decide on that,” he said after their meeting with Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Royina Garma on Thursday, Feb. 21.
He said they were still waiting for the autopsy result.
Her uncle also said they already had suspects on the source of the Ecstacy used by his niece.
“We cannot divulge it,” he said.
The family is positive the case will be solved before the year ends. “We will fight till the end,” he said.
Meanwhile, the family of Nel Spencer Tiu was grateful to President Rodrigo Duterte for identifying Ashley as the “source” of the party drugs that killed her.
In a speech delivered at the Malacañang Palace on Wednesday, Feb. 20, Duterte revealed that it was Ashley, not Tiu, who was carrying the party drug and she had wanted to split it with another girl at the party.
Barking up the wrong tree
Tiu’s lawyer, Orlando Salatandre, said there was no question as to the authenticity of the information provided by the President, as the latter had his own intelligence network.
Salatandre said the President’s revelations should serve as a lesson to the public not to immediately judge. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions to avoid barking up the wrong tree,” he told SunStar Cebu.
He also called on critics of his client to avoid bashing Tiu and his family in public following the President’s revelation.
Investigation on Ashley’s death continues with investigators focusing on the evidence gathered from witnesses.
“There is no connection to the statement of the President in the filing of the case,” said the CCPO director.
Garma also did not say what she and Ashley’s family discussed during their visit to her office.
She said their investigation was almost complete, but they were waiting for additional affidavits from new witnesses who could pinpoint the person responsible for Ashley’s death.
Garma also refused to comment on the forensic examination that reportedly revealed Ashley as the party drug’s source.
She said Duterte possible had other sources of information.
The President based his claim on the forensic examination of the girl’s cellphone, which showed she was carrying the drug before she collapsed during a pre-Sinulog party on the night of Jan. 19.
Ashley’s boyfriend was accused of supplying her with the Ecstasy, which he had denied.
Earlier reports said Ashley was given the party drug by one of her seven companions. (Wenilyn Sabalo, USJ-R Intern, JKV, AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)