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The January 5, 2005 shooting at the West Gate of Las Haciendas Subdivision


The following account of the January 5, 2005 shooting at the west gate of Las Haciendas subdivision in Hacienda Luisita is taken from testimonies delivered during the January 12, 2005 Senate hearing on the incident. On January 5, 2005 (or nearly two months after the Luisita massacre), some 20 picketers were manning the picket point at the west gate of Las Haciendas subdivision inside Hacienda Luisita. According to Police Chief Superintendent Angelo Sunglao of the Tarlac City PNP, at about 10:40 pm, a Nissan Patrol drove up to the gate from inside the subdivision, and an altercation ensued between the picketers and the men on board the vehicle. Three out of the four men inside the vehicle alighted and fired at the picketers. The vehicle then sped away. Two victims, George Loveland and Ernesto Ramos, were rushed to a hospital with gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach. Sunglao hinted that the altercation might have been caused by the picketers’ refusal to remove their barricade and let the vehicle pass. Emil Paragas, Tarlac coordinator of Karapatan, a human rights group that assisted the shooting victims, said based on their investigation, the altercation took place because the Nissan Patrol tried to ram through the checkpoint. He said the picketers had a list of the license plate numbers of legitimate homeowners of the subdivision and those vehicles were not being stopped for checking. The Nissan Patrol was not on the list. Paragas explained that the picketers had set up the checkpoint to prevent troublemakers from entering the sugar mill, which was accessible from the west gate of Las Haciendas. Picketer George Loveland said the men in the Nissan Patrol were very angry and started cursing. One of the three who alighted struck him on the head with a gun, and the gun went off. He was then shot in the chest from about 12 inches away. The bullet exited from his back. After that, the gunmen fired at the other picketers. Six policemen who were in an outpost about 30 meters away were unable to prevent the shooting. During the Senate hearing, Police Superintendent Sunglao admitted only two of the six were awake when the incident happened, because they were taking shifts. All six were relieved after the incident. Loveland said he recognized the gunmen because they were with the convoy of then-Congressman Noynoy Aquino when Aquino entered Las Haciendas subdivision three days before (January 2, 2005). The words used by Loveland to describe the men were: “Mga bata ni Noynoy Aquino", “Mga private army ni Congressman", and “Parang security guard, parang body guard". He said they were not wearing uniforms. Loveland said he believed Aquino was still inside the subdivision when the shooting occurred, because his vehicle was not seen coming out of the gate since it entered on January 2, 2005. Noynoy’s reaction In media reports, Aquino denied that the gunmen were connected to him. He also did not file perjury charges against Loveland, who gave his statements under oath. “My mother has reminded me that those of us in the public service must have greater understanding and patience than any other individual," he said in a January 14, 2005 report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “The only thing that I am guilty of is trying to arrive at a just and true solution to the ongoing conflict in the hacienda." Aquino said in the report that his right to free access to his house was violated because he had to go through the checkpoint set up by the picketers. He also said he had received word that he was a priority target for assassination by the New People’s Army (NPA), and the charges against him regarding the January 5, 2005 shooting were part of a Communist campaign to discredit him. Reached for comment, Gregorio “Ka Roger" Rosal, spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, told the Inquirer, “I assure Noynoy that it’s not yet his time. He still has to face trial before the special people's court, along with other members of the Cojuangco family and Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas." - GMANews.TV

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