Military witness in Quezon shooting says victims in SUVs fired first

A member of the NBI fornensic team examines one of the bullet riddled SUV at the Municipal Police Station in Atimonan, Quezon where 13 people were killed in an alleged ‘shootout’ with police and military at a checkpoint last January 6.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines—The military has presented its own witness in the Quezon shooting where 13 people were killed, saying it was not the police but the people inside the van who fired first.

Accompanied by lawyer Crisanto Buela to the National Bureau of Investigation, the witness who claims to be residing near the shootout scene said he was about 20 to 25 meters from the checkpoint.

The witness said it was the people on the Montero, one of the SUVs, who fired first when they were stopped at the checkpoint.

“Yung unang putok sa Montero galing (The first shot came from the Montero),” the witness said.

The witness said a man wearing civilian clothes which he believed was a police officer was shot.

After that, the witness said there was an exchange of fire that lasted for about three minutes.

He said he did not see what happened next because he hid to protect himself.

The witness said he came out for fear of his life.

Buela said the witness was the first to be interviewed by the media.

“Wala syang nakitang truck bago at pagkatapos ng nangyaring insidente (He saw no truck before or after the incident),” Buela said.

The military’s witness contradicted the testimony of the witness of the National Bureau of Investigation, the truck driver and his companion who claimed that they were overtaken by the two SUVs.

The NBI witnesses who led the DOJ and NBI in a re-enactment of the incident last week said the police shot the two vehicles first.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said the truck was less than 10 meters from where the shooting took place.

The truck, according to De Lima, made a U-turn away from the incident after a military told them to leave.