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Bacolod City, Philippines Thursday, April 20, 2006
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Tan-Zayco children
custody battle starts
BY CEDELF TUPAS

The hearing on the petition for guardianship filed by Rosalinda Garcia-Zayco of the five minor children of slain Iloilo businessman Robert Francisco "Bobby" Tan and his wife, Cynthia Zayco-Tan, is set at 8:30 a.m. today at the Branch 61 of the Regional Trial Court in Kabankalan City.

Tan's aunt and family matriarch, Conchita Tan, had filed a motion through her lawyer Joe Max Ortiz to dismiss the petition filed by Zayco. The five children are now with the Zayco family in Kabankalan.

In her motion, Conchita Tan claimed Kabankalan is not the proper venue for the hearing on the custody because the children are residents of Iloilo City.

She also claims that Zayco is not qualified to be the guardian of the children because she is not financially-competent, her lawyer said.

Investigations made by the National Bureau of Investigation and the police have tagged Tan's sons, Archie and Jan Michael Tan, as the main suspects in the killings.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group had earlier filed charges for two counts of murder and a one count of parricide against the brothers for the January 8 killing of their father, Francisco, their stepmother Cynthia Zayco-Tan, and their six and a half year old sister, Katherine.

The case is undergoing preliminary investigation before the Iloilo City Prosecutors Office. The Department of Justice had earlier issued a hold departure order against the two boys, who are Tan's sons from a previous relationship.

Conchita has alleged that the family of Cynthia could have masterminded the killings as part of a scheme to control the Tan's family business.

The Tan family owns the Crown Agro Chemicals, a chain of stores selling pesticides, fertilizers, and other agricultural inputs.

The victims were found dead with multiple stab wounds in the chest in the two-story family mansion in Molo District at dawn on January 9. Tan's body was found on his bed in the master bedroom, Cynthia's in Archie's room, adjacent to the master bedroom, while Kathy was found at the doorway of her parent's room.*CPT

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