The bullet-riddled Toyota HiAce van after it was shot at by unidentified gunmen on Edsa near the Reliance Street area and the VRP Medical Center. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Updated @ 12:01 a.m., Feb. 18, 2019, adding names of victims and more details
MANILA, Philippines — A businessman and his driver were killed and a female passenger was injured in a shooting incident on the southbound lane of Edsa near Reliance Street in Mandaluyong City Sunday afternoon.
Two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle went close to the white Toyota HiAce Grandia van they were riding on and fired several shots at its right side windows, Senior Supt. Moises Villaceran Jr., chief of the Mandaluyong City Police Station, told INQUIRER.net.
The backseat window of the van, which stopped on the lane near the center island of the thoroughfare, was shattered, while the window of the front passenger seat had two bullet holes.
The incident happened at 3:23 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The injured were taken to the Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center, which is almost right across where the van stopped.
According to Villaceran, the driver of the van, 51-year-old Allan Nomer Santos of Barangay Del Pilar in Las Piñas, and Jose Luis Yulo, a 62-year-old businessman of Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa, were declared dead at the hospital.
The woman, 38-year-old Esmeralda Ignacio of DBP Village in Las Piñas, survived.
Villaceran clarified that Jose Luis Yulo was just a namesake of the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, whose full name is Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr.
The police chief added that they were still verifying the victims’ names which had been provided by a relative of the driver, and the possibility that Yulo was a foreign national.
The three had reportedly come from a drag racing event at Clark International Speedway in Angeles City, where Yulo competed.
“We’re not sure if they were followed from there, or if the suspects waited at the scene of the shooting,” Villaceran told reporters.
Suspects caught on CCTV cam
According to Villaceran, footage taken by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera in the area showed two men on a black motorcycle shadowing the van as it navigated through moderate traffic on Edsa. They later fired at the van and then fled.
Villaceran said the motorcycle driver wore a black jacket and obscured his face with a helmet. The other suspect was in a white T-shirt and denim pants.
The lone survivor had drawn a blank when asked what the motive for the shooting might be.
“She didn’t know anyone who was angry with them,” the police official said. “When she’s stable, we’ll ask her again. She was still hysterical and didn’t provide much information.”
As of this posting, police officers were still collating CCTV camera footage from nearby establishments, including the hospital and a gas station.
Barangay Highway Hills watchman Ricardo San Juan, who rushed to the scene, said that Santos had been shot in the head and side, Ignacio on the cheek, and Yulo on his right side.
Villaceran said it appeared that a .45-caliber firearm was used. /atm