‘This is my second life’

After getting shot in the head at close range by an angry litigant, she could have died in an instant.

The ordeal has passed for Cebu City Assistant Prosecutor Maria Theresa Calibugan-Casiño, who survived a shooting rampage by a Canadian retiree at the Palace of Justice last January 22.

“I will be one year old again by January 22, 2014. Considering the severity of my injury, I believe this is my second life. What I have now is already a bonus for me and my family. I’m nothing but a recipient of a miracle,” Casiño told Cebu Daily News.

Christmas Day last week was special for Casiño, a wife and mother of two, who underwent surgery early this year to remove a .357 caliber slug embedded in her brain.

“There was a possibility that I would no longer be able to celebrate this season with my family and loved ones. But prayer moves mountains. If not for the prayers and love, I think I wouldn’t be here now. Every day is a day of thanksgiving,” she said.

Casiño, 41, was the only survivor in the January 22 shooting at the Palace of Justice. The rare act of violence involving a foreigner in a government building shocked Cebuanos. Guard checkpoints at the main door require visitors to wear ID cards and show the contents of your bag.

WHY WAS SHE SHOT?

Casino was one of three targets of the Canadian shooter, a 15-year resident of Cebu City.

The prosecutor was handling a grave threats case filed against him, one of a string of complaints filed by Dr. Rene Rafols, Pope’s former neighbor, who feared he was being stalked by an unstable foreigner with a gun.

Rafols, a surgeon, and his lawyer Jubian Achas died after they were shot in the head by Pope in the MTCC Branch 6 courtroom. The men were the first ones attacked by the Canadian, whose rage had built up since 2009 after he clashed with Rafols, president of the homeowners’ association, which had forced Pope to move out of his condominium in Cebu City over complaints of belligerent conduct.

Casiño, 41, remembers that fateful day when she was walking to a hearing at the MTCC Branch 1. She noticed the Canadian at the other end of the hallway.

GOOD MORNING

She was curious because his case wasn’t listed in the court calendar for the day. While they walked toward each other, Casiño recalled smiling at Pope and greeting him “good morning.”

“I went to the courtroom and suddenly felt numbness from my neck down. I thought I had a stroke. And then I could see nothing but darkness. But I could still hear voices saying ‘Fiscal is down. Let’s call ERUF.’ (ERUF is the paramedics team in Cebu City). And there was a male voice telling me ‘Fiscal, fight. Help is coming,’” she said.

Casiño said she had no idea she was shot until three days later at the hospital.

“I never heard a burst of gunfire. I didn’t even feel any pain in my head until I was brought to the hospital where my brain started to swell. That was when I felt excruciating pain. The pain in my head was unbearable,” she recalled.

Casino believes she had a near-death encounter while she was being treated in the hospital.

“I could remember seeing a dead colleague at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) who asked me where I was going. I also saw my cousin who told me ‘Don’t worry. . . I’ll take your pain away.’ There was a flicker of candlelight. I felt tired especially since breathing was a struggle,” she said.

Casiño, whose children are aged 5 and 2, was not about to give up.

“I never felt that I was about to go. I had to fight for my family. And I knew I gave a good fight. Perhaps it was not yet my time. I still have two small kids,” she said.

UNFINISHED WORK

After surviving the life-threatening injury, Casiño said she knew she has unfinished work ahead of her.

“I’m still searching. I’m still asking for His guidance about what I have to do, what He wants me to be and to become so I can serve Him and my fellow men,” she said.

The prosecutor used to work in the Department of Labor and Employment and became a prosecutor in 2010.

Casiño said her ordeal led her to realize not to take the ordinary things in life for granted.

Today she’s back at work in the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office even as she continues rehabilitation therapy two to three times a week.

She also takes medication to control possible seizures which may happen due to the gunshot wound in her brain’s occipital lobe.

“I’m generally okay although my vision is still affected. There are gaps in my vision. My right eye is better than the left. I can’t see clearly in my right eye. I also still feel numbness in the left side of my body although I can move my arms and feet,” Casiño said.

Last April, when she returned to work she was initially given assignments which required minimal effort.

“It was difficult coping with the effects of what happened. There are major changes in my lifestyle. I’m just fortunate to have the love and support of my family, friends and even those who don’t know me personally,” she said.

John Pope was later shot and disabled by a policeman in a corridor of the Palace of Justice. Suicide was his last recourse. The Canadian turned the gun on himself and fired a shot to his temple when he was cornered near the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.

His female target will never forget him.

“Have I forgiven him? I really don’t know, to be honest. How can I forgive someone who has not asked forgiveness? I don’t hate him but I don’t love him either. I just have an empty feeling towards him. I don’t know if that’s a sign of forgiveness.” /Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Reporter