Attack on Luli Arroyo's brother-in-law caught on tape

MANILA, Philippines - A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera caught on tape the shooting of a brother-in-law of presidential daughter Luli Arroyo Saturday morning in Pasig City, police said yesterday.

“The CCTV camera was not totally focused on the incident so we got a blurred image and failed to get the license plate of the (attackers’) Hi-Ace van,” Director Roberto Rosales, head of the National Capital Region Police Office, said.

He said investigators are seeking the help of computer experts to enhance the images taken by the surveillance camera so they could identify and arrest the attackers of businessman Jorge Bernas, 41.

Bernas is the brother of former investment banker J. Aloysius “Luigi” Bernas, who married Arroyo in Tagaytay City in November 2008.

According to Rosales, Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Francisco Manalo has prepared sketches of the gunmen based on the description provided by Bernas, his family members and several witnesses.

The NCRPO chief said they will interview the family of Bernas to determine who among them knew beforehand that the victim was returning to the country for a vacation.

Bernas and other family members were on their way home to Greenmeadows Subdivision in Quezon City in a Starex van when the suspect’s vehicle rear-ended their vehicle at the corner of C-5 Road and Ortigas Avenue in Barangay Ugong.

Bernas and his driver got out of the vehicle to inspect the damage.

Four armed men rushed out of the Hi-Ace van and declared a heist.

The gunmen opened fire at Bernas and his driver when they tried to shout for help.

Bernas sustained gunshot wounds in the abdomen and left arm. A public utility jeepney driver brought Bernas to the Medical City hospital, where he is now listed in stable condition.

The gunmen commandeered the Starex van and drove off, bringing along Bernas’ relatives. The attackers dropped off Bernas’ family members at the corner of EDSA and Estrella streets in Makati City.

Rosales strongly suspects that the gunmen tailed Bernas’ vehicle from the airport until it reached the site of the attack.

The NCRPO and EPD, according to Rosales, are also tapping the help of their “underworld” sources to identify the gunmen.