‘My brother was not a carjacker’

A sister of a business school student gunned down last month by Traffic Management Group (TMG) officers during an anti-carjacking operation said yesterday her brother was not a criminal, the first time the family has made a public statement about the incident.

In a press conference held at the Astoria Plaza in Pasig City, Jennifer Manzano, 37, read a statement in connection with the killing of her brother Francis Xavier, praying that the investigation being conducted by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) "may bear fruit and that justice may be done so that Francis may be able to truly rest peacefully."

Francis Xavier, 26, a second year college student at the Thames Business School, was shot dead by police anit-carjacking operatives at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City last Nov. 7.

Also killed were his companions Brian Anthony Dulay and Antonio Cu-Unjieng.

Francis was the youngest of five siblings.

"He has been described as a criminal and a carjacker by those who took his life. Francis Xavier, FX to us, was many things, but he was not a criminal, he was not a carjacker," said Jennifer, who was almost in tears as she read her family’s statement.

She told the media men that neither Francis nor any other member of the family ever owned a firearm.

Jennifer said they are deeply pained and traumatized by the passing of their youngest.

"We believe that we owe it to our brother as well as to our late parents not to allow our name to be trampled upon and vilified without cause and without justification," she said.

Jennifer said that while they do not wish to condemn the Philippine National Police (PNP) as an institution, they cannot turn a blind eye to the video footage of the "overkill" as well as the testimonies of eyewitnesses "that show beyond any doubt that those who killed Francis disregarded the rules of engagement and violated his fundamental human rights."

"We believe in the rule of law. Francis was not accorded the rule of law. He was not a criminal, yet he was treated like the worst kind of criminal. He was never charged, tried, convicted or sentenced, yet he was executed," Jennifer said.

She said the family agreed to cooperate with the CHR in its investigation, and acceded the request to have the remains of Francis exhumed and his body re-examined by a doctor who had been commissioned by the CHR.

This was done last Nov. 26 in Baguio City. They are now awaiting the official report and findings of the autopsy which they believe would bring  them closer to the truth.

Jennifer, on behalf of the family,  thanked several people including CHR chairwoman Purificacion Quisumbing, UNTV for the video taken by a news crew and other witnesses, for helping them in the search for the truth.

Lawyer Theodore Te, legal counsel of the Manzano family, said they are now closely coordinating with Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun, who performed the autopsy.

He said the family is hoping the report would come out soon.

"We are hoping that it will bring us closer to the truth to finding out what truly happened  on Nov. 7, 2005. The re-examination and the re-autopsy will unearth a lot of things that right now cannot be explained in relation to the death of Francis," Te said.

He said that even if the families of those killed do not file charges, then the Department of Justice has a duty to do so, if the CHR finds basis.

Te said there were a lot of people in the area during the alleged shootout. He hopes that those witnesses will come forward.

"Without witnesses or without enough witnesses, I don’t think they will have too much basis to proceed.  We are also making this appeal to people who may have been there, may have information, to come forward and coordinate with the CHR. If they are willing to coordinate with us,  then I will coordinate with the CHR on their behalf," the lawyer said.

He said the Manzano family is thankful that the CHR took the initiative and continues to follow up the investigation.