Asistio son denies knowing gun owner of seized weapon

The controversial son of Caloocan Rep. Luis "Baby" Asistio denied yesterday that he knew the owner of the gun allegedly confiscated from him by police raiders during a supposed anti-drug operation last month.

"I do not know him," said Luis "Piting" Asistio, referring to Noel Soriano whom the police said was the registered owner of the caliber .45 handgun the alleged drug suspect reportedly used in shooting at them.

The young Asistio stressed that he only learned about Soriano in newspapers and through news broadcasts. He refused to confirm or deny if he was carrying a gun when the police tried to arrest him last April 4.

Asistio and his live-in partner Rosario Ortega were wounded in the back during the alleged raid. They claimed the police, who had no arrest warrant, shot them treacherously, "with intention to kill." They have filed attempted murder charges against the concerned police operatives.

Yesterday, three neighbors of Asistio came forward to recount what they saw on the night of the raid.

The three, who refused to be identified, said they saw two policemen shooting at Asistio while the latter was running towards his home in Kitang Alley, Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City.

They described one of the policemen as more or less 5'6" tall, with a rotund physique, and the other as about 5'9' with an athletic build.

Chief Inspector Rhodel Sermonia of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), who was the raiders' leader, earlier claimed during a congressional inquiry that it was only he and one SPO2 Conrado Cortez who fired their guns during the operation.

He insisted that the raid was a simple anti-drug operation incidentally involving the son of a prominent politician.