Wounded NBI official bares death threats 2 weeks before ambush

MANILA, Philippines—Ambush-survivor National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Rey Esmeralda said on Wednesday he received death threats two weeks ago, prompting him to change vehicles as a security precaution.

Interviewed on Radyo Inquirer from his room at the Manila Medical Center, Esmeralda, however, refused to comment on who was behind the attempt on his life Tuesday night  in Paco, Manila.

“It’s still premature,” he said, adding that the NBI and the Philippine National Police have launched a joint inquiry into the murder attempt.

Esmeralda said he had just left the NBI office on Taft Avenue for an appointment in Makati when gunmen on motorcycle fired at his vehicle as it made a turn toward Apacible St. in Paco, Manila at around 7:15 pm Tuesday night.

“I think we were followed from NBI,” he said. “I think they were monitoring us outside the bureau.”

Esmeralda said he was with his brother and three police escorts. He said he also had two backup escorts on motorcycle.

Esmeralda suffered wounds in the face and body from glass splinters. His brother had a glass splinter in the eye. Doctors have declared both of them out of danger.

Esmeralda said he called Justice Secretary Lilia de Lima from the emergency room of Manila Medical Center minutes after the ambush. “I told her to beef up her security because she’s part of the equation of these death threats,” he said.

NBI investigators have recovered empty shells of the M16 armalite assault weapon from the ambush site.