Massacre witness' lawyer identifies 1 of 3 attackers

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – One of the three gunmen that attacked a lawyer representing one of the witnesses in the Maguindanao massacre had been identified.

Lawyer Richard Petisme claimed he recognized one of his attackers attending the court hearing held last Friday inside the compound of the main office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) here.

“I saw the gunman that aimed a gun and fired at me near the court where I was, before I got shot,“ Petisme said.

Petisme, counsel of witness Rasul Sangki, suffered superficial wounds in the neck from glass fragments after his car was peppered with bullets by unidentified gunmen while on his way to Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.

Petisme’s military escorts tried to return fire but hesitated after the gunmen merged into a group of pedestrians crossing a busy road intersection.

The attack came two months after gunmen shot dead the uncle of Sangki at an intersection in the city.

Cotabato City Police director Senior Superintendent Willy Dangane ordered an investigation into the incident.

Petisme told police investigators that he earlier saw one of the gunmen at the regional trial court inside the ARMM compound before the ambush.

“I saw one of the gunmen there at the premises of the court. The next time I saw him, he was already pointing a gun at me and shots rang. I was so fortunate that I was not hit,” he said.

The family of Sangki is related to the Ampatuans, the principal accused in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

The families are now at odds after Sangki testified against the Ampatuans.