Neri's Quezon City home strafed by men in military uniform

MANILA, Philippines - Unidentified suspects fired yesterday at the house of Social Security System (SSS) president Romulo Neri in Quezon City.

Neri, who was not hurt in the incident, said that the strafing of his house at around 9 a.m. surprised him and he could not think of any reason why people would attack him.

He said that he was taking a shower and preparing to go to office when he heard gunshots outside his family’s residence at 28 Palali St., Barangay Siena.

“I was surprised. I was in the shower,” Neri told The STAR in a telephone interview.

Neri said he was entirely clueless on who might be the suspects. “It came as a total surprise,” he added.

He recently refused an offer of additional security since he saw no reason to fear for his safety.

“I had refused additional security recently. I now have only two (bodyguards),” Neri said.

Neri said that he was leaving it to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to investigate the incident.

He said that Director Roberto Rosales, chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office, and Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, director of the Quezon City Police District, have already visited his house and assured him of a thorough probe on the incident.

Several activists have previously held protest actions outside Neri’s house to assail his refusal to speak out about the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract of the government that President Arroyo was forced to cancel following the public outcry over alleged bribery and overpricing involved in the deal with ZTE Corp. of China. 

Suspects in military uniforms

Superintendent Carlito Feliciano, commander of the QCPD Station 1, said the suspects, who were wearing military uniforms, had accosted Neri’s security aide Benjamin Santillan and Renato Vallesan and ordered them to lie on the ground outside the gate of the Neri residence.

One suspect even fired shots at the pavement as an apparent warning to Neri’s bodyguards.

Santillan had earlier left behind Neri’s white Toyota Hi-ace van (with license plates NTO 453) with its engine running while they waited for Neri, who was still inside the house.

The security aide later bought something at a nearby store and when he came back, the suspects were already there.

Santillan tried to pull out his caliber .45 pistol but the suspects pointed their firearms at him.

Vallesan, Neri’s other security aide, said he was standing by the van parked outside the gate when he saw the men arrive on board maroon and silver Hyundai vans.

“The vehicles didn’t even stop. They just ran slowly as they approached the house while the armed men jumped off one by one,” Vallesan told reporters.

Vallesan said he saw eight men – three of whom had their faces covered – but he was sure there were others who served as lookouts in the area.

“They ordered me to drop to the ground as some of them formed a human ladder for a gunman to be able to scale the gate and fire (shots at the house from outside),” he said.

Vallesan said he saw one of the assailants with a firearm shooting at Neri’s house.

Chief Inspector Benjamin Elenzano, deputy head of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said the house sliding glass door and walls sustained bullet holes from the attack.

“It was definitely a show of force,” Elenzano said, noting that Neri’s Hi-ace van outside was riddled with bullet holes and even the Toyota Rav4 parked inside the compound was also hit.

Senior Police Officer 3 Leonardo Pasco said a Cherry mini car parked behind Neri’s van but is owned by another resident also sustained damage from the attack.

Tomas Castro, a neighbor of Neri, said he was shocked when he came out and saw the men already firing their guns.

“Since they were in military uniform, I thought they were going after and firing at criminals that had run to this direction,” Castro told The STAR.

San Diego said the shooting incident was apparently intended to scare off Neri.

“They (suspects) could have easily entered the residence. They even took the firearm of one of the bodyguards. At that point they could have shot him,” San Diego said.

The suspects fled on board their getaway vehicles towards Sto. Domingo Avenue.

Investigators said the gunmen abandoned their two getaway vehicles along Cetacio Streets several blocks away from Neri’s house and transferred to a white Hi-ace van and a white L300 van and escaped. The plates of the Hi-ace and L300 vans were covered with signs indicating that the vehicles would deliver relief goods for typhoon victims.

Metro Manila police chief Rosales said more than 100 bullets were fired at Neri’s residence.

Superintendent Jesus Bacani, head of the QCPD Crime Laboratory, said that the suspects used M-16 rifles based on the spent shells recovered from the site.

Superintendent Feliciano said that while the armed men were clad in military uniforms, it is still not verified if the suspects were soldiers.

He said witnesses told investigators that the uniforms of the suspects were apparently new and the combat boots of the gunmen “smelled brand new.”

Rosales said the police would provide 24-hour security detail at Neri’s residence and additional security aides to the SSS chief.

Neri could not attribute the incident to any of his dealings or transactions related to his work at the SSS.

“I really don’t know. Investigators are now looking into the incident,” he said.

Rosales also formed a special investigation task force (SITG) to investigate the Neri incident.

Police sources indicated that authorities are looking into a personal angle as motive for the attack.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo condemned the attack on Neri and ordered the police to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

This as the Court of Appeals (CA) is set to hear on Monday the petition of Neri who is seeking to stop the implementation of the suspension order of the Office of the Ombudsman against him for six months in connection with his role in the canceled NBN-ZTE contract.

- With Edu Punay, Marvin Sy, Non Alquitran, Iris Gonzales