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BLOGGING FOR JUSTICE
For the first-time ever, an attempt to blog for justice for my classmate, Francis Xavier Manzano, who was brutally shot by a group of corrupt Philippine National Police (PNP) on the evening of November 7, 2005.
Francis was on his way home from Starbucks. He was dressed in his home attire (shirt, shorts and slippers), seated at the backseat of his friend's car, sipping on his iced-drink. (Do guys on a on a heist wear slippers?! I doubt it.)
As the three friends drove through Ortigas Blvd, a group of darkly tinted SUVs approached their vehicle and began firing shots at their car. The SUVs surrounded the stalled and bullet-ridden sedan, and out came armed men with military machine guns and hand guns, dressed in casual clothes. They approached the car, opened all of its doors, and fired more bullets directly at them at arm’s length. So many shots were fired that everyone within a few blocks away felt a moment of fear upon hearing them.
To a witness of this scene, it looked like the SUVs were the car thieves and the sedan was their prey. Instead, the men in the SUVs were a group of corrupt PNPs (Philippine National Police) who made sure their prey would not live to tell the truth. Upon assuring that Francis and his friends were dead, the policemen immediately planted stolen guns and stolen licensed plates into the sedan. It was done so quickly, as if it was a drill they have done many times before. As a follow-up, their leaders immediately contacted the media to announce their successful “supposed” battle with the “supposed” car thieves. (It’s quite typical of cowardly villains to lie and inflate their battles; and attempt to paint innocent citizens into threats.) Faster than the police can contact the family of the boys they shot to death, our TV sets was showing a heroic medallion being awarded to an injured cop from the scene.
Just as the country was being convinced of how great these corrupt cops were, an eye-witness video was released by UNTV (an independent TV station). Amazingly, UNTV captured the entire incident on video, proving that my classmate, Francis, and his friends were not a threat at all. It showed the cops planting the stolen guns and license plates that proved the police to be liars. The video demonstrated the overzealous cops attacking the sedan with unnecessary and excessive firings. It showed a cop firing extra shots into Francis, Anton, and Brian after opening their doors and seeing them taking their last breath.
The top forensic in Asia worked on this case and enough evidence gave her the conclusion that: #1) PNP’s claim that gunshots were fired from the sedan was impossible because “all” the shattered glass were inside the sedan, proving the shots came from the outside. #2) Francis was too far from the planted gun and made it impossible for him to be a threat at all. #3) That wounded cop was hit by a ricochet bullet from his own gun, from inside his own car. #4) The cops planted a gun on the Brian's (guy on the front seat) right hand for the media to take photos of; but Brian is left-handed.
Francis was my classmate, and I know that he was neither a car thief nor a police threat. In fact, Francis hated guns and has always feared the noise it created. The PNP ended his life for the wrong reason, and attempted to destroy his name. This is my plea to get your attention to this matter, to help gain justice for Francis, and to the many other innocent souls who lost their lives from police and government corruption in the Philippines. Clear Francis Xavier Manzano of wrong accusations. Don't twist what's wrong as right. Give Francis and his family the right justice. Give our country hope.
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