(CMFR/IFEX) – A business reporter writing for a local weekly barely clung to life after being shot in the back by a gunman on 4 October 2005 in General Santos City, around 980 kilometres south of Manila. Danilo Aguirre, a marketing executive and business correspondent of the “Mindanao Bulletin”, was about to go to a […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – A business reporter writing for a local weekly barely clung to life after being shot in the back by a gunman on 4 October 2005 in General Santos City, around 980 kilometres south of Manila.
Danilo Aguirre, a marketing executive and business correspondent of the “Mindanao Bulletin”, was about to go to a local convenience store with colleague Manuel Zaldivar when a masked hitman appeared from nowhere and shot the victim at close range.
Zaldivar, sensing danger, pushed Aguirre away, preventing a clear fatal head shot. The 25-year-old victim was instead hit in the lower back by a bullet, which pierced through his intestines and out his stomach, according to attending physicians.
After shooting Aguirre, the assailant turned to Zaldivar, who managed to escape when the suspect jammed his gun. The attacker then walked casually toward a red motorcycle bearing a temporary plate and immediately sped away, according to reports.
Zaldivar suffered minor bruises while Aguirre was rushed to the nearby General Santos City Doctors’ Hospital. Doctors declared the victim out of danger after putting him under the knife for four hours.
General Santos City Police Chief Alfredo Toroctocon said they are still determining the identity of the suspect and the motive behind the murder attempt. “We are pursuing a personal grudge as the possible motive,” Toroctocon said, although they are not discounting work-related reasons.
“Mindanao Bulletin” editor Joseph Jubelag said they don’t believe that the attempt on Aguirre’s life was work-related since “[Aguirre] started writing for us just a month ago, and he didn’t write [about] any sensitive issues, as he has been covering mostly business and developmental programs by the local government.”
Before writing for the paper, Aguirre worked as a marketing executive for several companies, according to Jubelag. Aguirre has a degree in marketing.
