Manhunt on for PMA cadet's attacker

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has identified a man believed to have shot a Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet during a jeepney robbery over the weekend, an official said yesterday.

Superintendent Virgilio Fabian, commander of the QCPD Station 5, said investigators are in the process of putting together a computer-generated image based on the descriptions provided by three passengers who witnessed how Cadet First Class Antonio Aviles, 23, grabbed the unidentified man’s gun when the robber accosted a female passenger. The man shot Aviles and took his class ring before fleeing.

Aviles, a retired Marine sergeant’s son, underwent surgery to remove a bullet from his skull. He remains confined at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center.

AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said Aviles, though still in critical condition, has started showing signs of improvement.

“He was able to move his right arm and is also trying to move his lips and his eyes when the PMA Officers’ Corps, led by PMA superintendent, Maj. Gen. Nonato Alfredo and PMA commandant of cadets Brig. Gen. Carlos Quita, visited him,” Burgos said.

Barring any complications, Aviles would have “a good chance of survival,” according to a medical bulletin.

PMA spokesperson Capt. Lynette Flores hailed Aviles as a “hero” even before he has become a full-fledged soldier-officer.

“He was averting the threat caused by the (robber) not only unto him but also the passengers of the jeep,” Flores said. – With Jaime Laude, Artemio Dumlao