Businessman shoots self in car
A 70-year-old businessman died after he allegedly committed suicide in his vehicle along Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City before dawn yesterday.
Maximo Pascual reportedly shot himself in the jaw, according to his son Marlon, who was driving the vehicle at around 4 a.m.
Makati police chief Senior Superintendent Gerry Umayao said Maximo and Marlon were heading home to Marikina City after attending a birthday party at a hotel in Malate.
They were reportedly arguing after Marlon went in the wrong direction, Umayao said.
The elder Pascual allegedly took his 9mm pistol and shot himself, Marlon told police. They were on Gil Puyat Avenue between Dian and Bautista streets.
Umayao said Marlon’s younger brother, Maximo Jr., asked the police not to autopsy their father’s body as they believe Marlon’s story.
The Makati police, however, insisted that it will conduct an investigation to determine if there was foul play.
Dario Guillermo de Leon, in a five-minute video he posted on Facebook, said a man, referring to Marlon, sought his help as his father committed suicide in their vehicle.
De Leon said he recorded the incident to report it to the police. In the video, Marlon was seen crying beside his father while talking to someone over the phone.
“Patay na si papa (Papa is dead),” he said. When asked by witnesses, Marlon said he was unaware that his father had a gun with him. He added that he did not touch anything.
In the comment section of the video, De Leon said when he asked Marlon why he did not bring his father to the hospital, he only responded that he was drunk and he was not aware of what happened to his father.