Golfer Asistio wounded in shooting in belated report to police

MANILA, Philippines — Professional golfer Antonio “Ton” Asistio was shot and wounded by two unidentified assailants while he was having drinks with friends before midnight on Monday, police reported Thursday.

The attack at around 11:30 p.m. in front of his home in New Marikina Heights Subdivision in Barangay (village) San Roque was not immediately reported to the police.

Superintendent Danilo Macerin, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in National Capital Region, said they received a call about the incident only a day later when the victim was already at the hospital.

The 22-year-old golfer was reportedly confined at the Medical City and was in an unstable condition on Wednesday at the time the police attempted to obtain from him details about the incident.

Asistio suffered gunshot wounds in the left eye and the upper back.

Initial investigation showed that the victim and his three friends were having drinks just outside his apartment when two men suddenly appeared and shot him twice with a pistol of still unknown caliber. The gunmen fled immediately.

Macerin said investigators would rely on the victim’s description of the gunmen as other witnesses did not have a good view.

The crime scene had also been cleaned up even before the Scene of the Crime Operatives came to retrieve evidence such as spent shells from the gun used by the assailants.

According to Macerin, it was too early to draw conclusions as to the motive for the shooting as investigators were still gathering clues and evidence.

“It may not be robbery because nothing valuable was taken from him. We are looking into something personal,” he said.

He added that prior to the attack, neighbors saw a car linger near the golfer’s house, leading the police to believe that the gunmen had been monitoring the victim’s movements.

Investigators are still waiting for the victim to recover to ask him for more information, Macerin said.