The Philippine Online Chronicles

A fact-finding mission organized by slain botanist Leonardo Co's fellow scientists came up with a report showing that there was no crossfire when Leonardo Co and his colleagues from Lopez-owned EDC Corp. were killed on November 15 in a forest in Kananga, Leyte.

The result of the probe went against the initial statement of the military that Co, Sofronio Cortez, and Julius Borromeo were killed during an exchange of gunfire between the military and the New People's Army (NPA).

Different groups had earlier expressed concern over the peculiar facts of the incident, leading them to believe that the military had mistaken the group as members of the NPA.

No opposing gun shots

University of the Philippines Physicist Giovanni Tapang said the team discovered that the soldiers shot from a ridge overlooking the area where the EDC employees worked. He said there were no bullet marks on the ridge or the trees nearby, showing that there was no return fire or initial shots from the other side.

Targets

Also, the number of gun shots that Co and four of his companions sustained and the multiple gun shots concentrated on the trees nearby showed that they were the target. One of the trees that stood near survivor Ronino Gibe was hit six times.

No medical attention

Gibe attested that the military failed to provide medical aid to Borromeo, amid his pleas. The delay had eventually caused Borromeo's death.

Army spokesperson for Easter Visayas, Lieutenant Colonel Noel Vestuir said they were prohibited from issuing comments about the case as they await the investigation made by the National Bureau of Investigation.

According to Inquirer.net, a reconstruction of the incident shows that the victims had shouted and declared themselves. But their pleas were merely answered by a remark from one of the assailants.

“Nandito lang pala kayo (So you were here all along),” said one of the gunmen. The gunfire did not waver for more than 15 minutes.

A video of the fact-finding mission is posted in Alternative multimedia news site Kodao.org.

Earlier this year, Wikileaks released a video of a July 2007 shooting of a Reuters photographer and his driver. United States military officials said the soldiers were engaged in combat but the video showed soldiers aiming and firing at a group of unarmed individuals.