Police probing company exec’s death await word from kin

The Eastern Police District (EPD) said it would look into the possible reasons behind the death of Ferdinand Edwin Coseteng, a top executive of the Lopez Group of Companies, who reportedly jumped from the 10th floor of his office building in Pasig City on Friday morning.

“As of now, we haven’t gotten substantial information from the family. The statement of the family members is very important as it will reveal if there were threats or other pertinent information,” the EPD director, Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, said in an interview with the Inquirer on Saturday.

An investigator who tried to interview Coseteng’s family members said they had requested privacy for now as they mourn.

All angles

“For now, we are looking at CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses. We are looking at all angles. Were there death threats (received) through text or a suicide note? We will also look into the financial records of the companies (Coseteng led),” SPO1 Rusthom Valdez of the Pasig police.

According to the report of Pasig City Police chief Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra Jr., Coseteng, executive vice president of First Philippine Holdings (FPH), arrived at his office on the 10th floor of Tower 3 of Rockwell Business Center, Ortigas Avenue, Barangay Ugong, at 7:05 a.m. on Friday.

He greeted colleagues on his way to his office, including Victor Montinola, the company vice president.

An attempt to save

As quoted in the report, Montinola said he later noticed that Coseteng had opened the door leading to the terrace.

When Montinola went out of his room, he saw Coseteng stepping on a chair and climbing over the glass fence of the terrace.

Montinola rushed toward Coseteng and got to the terrace just in time to grab him by his belt, but failed to pull him up on account of his weight.

Yebra said that aside from Montinola “who attempted to save Coseteng,” a utility worker saw the executive jump off the building and land on a landscaped area near a bank on the ground level.

‘Valuable colleague’

The victim was brought to The Medical City hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Aside from his post at FPH, the 54-year-old Coseteng served as president of First Philippine Industrial Park Inc. and First Philippine Electric Corp., and  director of Rockwell Land Corp. He was also a cousin of former Sen. Nikki Coseteng.

“We in the FPH family will always remember Edwin as a valuable colleague, wonderful boss, and loyal friend. We will miss him,” FPH said in a statement issued on Friday night. “We extend to the family, relatives and friends of Edwin our deepest condolences and ask for prayers.”