Brother in law says something like -- "I know it's hard to believe. We got to believe him, he's family".
Me-- Well, he's not my family and I'm starting to doubt he's being truthful.
Like I said earlier, that is a very Filipino mindset. We are raised to think and act with family first, no matter what. I don't necessarily believe that, but my immediate family and I are very close (parents and siblings). I trust them implicitly. However, that would not extend to my sibling's spouses if one of them went missing after an argument and it was this suspicious.
They have been married 21 years. What now would have prompted this action? I can't help but wonder if there was an outside influence encouraging this type of action. For those of you who have pointed to the tight knit nature of Filipino families, I agree. In addition, a high percentage of Filipinos are Catholic, which does not approve of divorce, only if certain extreme conditions exist.
I feel so very badly for the husband, the extended family, and most especially the kids. This is horrible, and not looking good at all. : (
Amateur opinion and speculation
Yes, the catholic faith and the Filipino culture make it difficult for some of us to even think of divorce. It's not a very safe & healthy way to think though, which is why a lot of my generation (and Maya's, I suppose) are more open to it now, we're still Filipino but were raised in a completely different community. We were exposed to so much more than if we were raised in the Philippines which has helped break some of us out of that kind of thinking.