MANILA: Ten months after the deadly riots in Manila during the anti-corruption protests last Sept. 21, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that a slain bystander was killed by a “stray bullet coming from a loose firearm.”
“I was there. We made sure that, during our operations, the president made it clear that no guns were to be used. To support, the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) was there on the side,” Remulla said at a La Salle Institute of Governance forum in Manila on Thursday.
“The one fatality was by a stray bullet, but we traced it. It did not belong to the Philippine National Police. We have serial numbers. It was a loose firearm that killed him, and it did not come from the PNP,” he said.
The fatality was identified by the human rights group Karapatan as 35-year-old construction worker Eric Saber, who was believed to have been caught in the crossfire during the riots.
According to Karapatan, citing an autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun, Saber sustained a gunshot wound to the neck.
Karapatan called for an investigation into Saber's death.
Although Remulla did not identify the fatality as Saber, he stressed: “I assure you, it was not the PNP… That was a kilometre away from our engagement line, and there were no policemen there.”
Remulla estimated that 98 per cent of gun-related criminal activities involved unregistered or loose firearms, half of which belonged to dismissed Philippine National Police or Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel. /mr
Two-sentence summary:
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the bystander killed during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption protest in Manila was struck by a stray bullet fired from a loose firearm, not a weapon belonging to the Philippine National Police. He added that most gun-related crimes involve unregistered firearms, many of which are linked to dismissed security personnel.
MANILA: Ten months after the deadly riots in Manila during the anti-corruption protests last Sept. 21, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that a slain bystander was killed by a “stray bullet coming from a loose firearm.”
“I was there. We made sure that, during our operations, the president made it clear that no guns were to be used. To support, the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) was there on the side,” Remulla said at a La Salle Institute of Governance forum in Manila on Thursday.
“The one fatality was by a stray bullet, but we traced it. It did not belong to the Philippine National Police. We have serial numbers. It was a loose firearm that killed him, and it did not come from the PNP,” he said.
The fatality was identified by the human rights group Karapatan as 35-year-old construction worker Eric Saber, who was believed to have been caught in the crossfire during the riots.
According to Karapatan, citing an autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun, Saber sustained a gunshot wound to the neck.
Karapatan called for an investigation into Saber's death.
Although Remulla did not identify the fatality as Saber, he stressed: “I assure you, it was not the PNP… That was a kilometre away from our engagement line, and there were no policemen there.”
Remulla estimated that 98 per cent of gun-related criminal activities involved unregistered or loose firearms, half of which belonged to dismissed Philippine National Police or Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel. /mr
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the bystander killed during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption protest in Manila was struck by a stray bullet fired from a loose firearm, not a weapon belonging to the Philippine National Police. He added that most gun-related crimes involve unregistered firearms, many of which are linked to dismissed security personnel.
