Aid worker 3rd Dutch to die in Philippines in a week
Wilhelm Geertman (3rd from left), a Dutch NGO worker, killed in his office in Angeles, Pampanga, Tuesday by a lone gunman. Activist group Bayan has condemned the killing and calls for swift justice. Photo courtesy of Bayan
MANILA, Philippines—Development worker William Geertman became the third Dutch national to die in the Philippines since last week.
On Tuesday, William Geertman, a Dutch working for a nongovernment disaster management organization, was shot and killed by a lone gunman in his office in a subdivision in Angeles City.
Fred Villareal, a correspondent of Sun.Star Pampanga, said he was writing a story in the compound of the Alay Bayan at the L & S Subdivision when he saw two men enter the premises past noon.
One of the suspects pointed a gun at Geertman, 67, who tried to wrest the gun from the suspect. The suspect, however, regained control of the gun and shot Geertman in the back.
The gunman and his companion fled on a motorcycle.
Geertman, who had lived in the Philippines for 30 years according to an Associated Press report, used to volunteer for another nongovernment organization in Aurora. He died at the emergency room of the nearby Sacred Heart Medical Center at 1:20 p.m., Villareal said.
The Associated Press also quoted a police investigator, Nenchu Nucup, as saying the suspects fled with a bag that is believed to contain P1.2 million that Geertman had withdrawn after closing a bank account.
Also in Angeles City, Johannes Franciseus Maria Noordhuizen, 65, was found dead last Wednesday at the garage of the house he was renting in Balibago village.
Noordhuizen’s body was found by his maid seated on a chair at the garage of his house on Surla Street.
The maid sought police help after she noticed that Noordhuizen was not breathing. Police ruled out foul play in Noordhuizen’s death.
Last Thursday, another Dutch national Hendricus Andrianus, 44, died due to a still unknown cause in his bedroom inside his rented apartment in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.
Only house helper Jumar Icot was present when Andrianus died, according to the police report.
Icot told the police that at 6:20 p.m., he saw Andrianus, who was inside his room, grimacing. But Andrianus had no pulse when he checked, he added.
Icot told the police that Andrianus has been drinking since his Filipina girlfriend allegedly left him early this year.
Police found no signs of foul play. Tonette Orejas and Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon; Chito Aragon, Inquirer Visayas
