Family looks for clues in mysterious death of ex-lawmaker

His close kin are reviewing the case files of lawyer and former Batangas Rep. Edgar Mendoza to look for any clues that might shed light into the mysterious circumstances behind his death, according to a House leader and friend of the slain ex-congressman.

Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu said Mendoza’s grieving family and friends were all still in shock and upset by the gruesome nature of his killing, as he was known to be “very simple” and “unassuming.”

“Right now, the family still can’t give any developments, but [Mendoza’s] daughter who is also a lawyer is reviewing the cases he was handling for possible clues,” Abu told the Inquirer.

He said he was not aware of any person who might have a personal grudge against the former congressman, who kept a private law practice in Batangas City. Two of his adult children are also lawyers, according to Abu.

“He was a very simple and unassuming person. Even as a congressman, you wouldn’t sense any arrogance in him. He never showed any feeling of self-importance,” Abu said of his friend.

He visited the Mendoza family home in Batangas on Friday. “We were just talking about how he would have been celebrating his birthday in a few days,” he said.

Mendoza would have turned 70 years old on Jan. 15, the House leader said.

Abu, a representative of the second district of Batangas, which Mendoza represented from 1998-2001, called on authorities to dig deeper into the deaths of his friend and two others, whose charred remains were found in his car that was abandoned in Tiaong, Quezon province, early Thursday.