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LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines - A lawyer and spokesman of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza Jr. was shot to death yesterday in his car while waiting for a traffic light to change in V. Sotto Street, Cebu City.
Richard William ?Dick? Sison, 53, was alone in his Toyota Hi-Lux pickup when two men on a motorcycle ambushed him shortly past 11 a.m.
The gunman got off the motorbike?s back seat, walked up to the driver?s side, and pushed his gun into an opening at the top of the window to fire rapid shots at close range, said police based on witness accounts.
The shooter, who was between 20 and 30 years old, wore a red t-shirt, and calmly returned to the motorbike before speeding away.
Sison died over an hour later as doctors tried to save his life in Chong Hua Hospital, where he was operated for at least five bullet wounds in the head and neck.
Mayor Radaza, in a phone interview, mourned the loss of a confidante and called the violence ?the obvious handiwork of hired killers.?
He didn?t point an accusing finger at anyone in particular but swore that he ?would not rest? until the killers are brought to justice. (See story on page 2.)
The victim?s family confirmed that Sison had received a death threat by phone from an unidentified party in the third week of March.
The mayor said he was aware of the threat and had advised Sison to get his own security escorts.
?Pero mupahiyom ra man nako unya niingon ko nga kung pagboot sa ginoo kung kuhaon siya,? said Radaza. (But he would just smile and say it was up to God when his time was up.)
Statements of condemnation were issued by fellow lawyers in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu city and province chapters, as well as the Cebu City Council.
Senior Supt. Paul Labra II was placed in charge of a police task force to track down the killers. Task force members include the PNP Crime Laboratory and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-7).
Sison was handling graft cases filed against Mayor Radaza over allegations of overpriced purchases of lampposts for ASEAN Summit and computers for high school students in the city.
Before his death, the lawyer was preparing for oral arguments before the Sandiganbayan to defend Mayor Radaza in the lamppost controversy.
Aside from being the mayor?s private lawyer, Sison was hired as legal consultant of Lapu-Lapu City project monitoring and the Mactan North reclamation project.
Sison was also closely identified with the Emergency Rescue Unit foundation (Eruf), where he was a founding member and its current vice chairman and legal officer. He was scheduled to leave for Haarlemermeer, Netherlands with other Eruf officials today on official business.
The trip was cancelled following the murder.
Sison is survived by his wife Blandina who is a midwife working at the city hospital, and three children- two daughters and one son.
Before the ambush took place past 11 a.m., Sison had just left the Lapu-Lapu City Court. Lapu-Lapu City Attorney Joseph Vincent Lim said the lawyer was on his way to the Toyota Cebu center along M. Cuenco Avenue to have his vehicle checked. From there, Sison was to go to his law office in Fuente Osmeña, Cebu City
Police suspect the gunmen were trailing the lawyer?s car with plate number GKP-376.
The ambush took place in barangay Tinago near the Sacris Machine Shop across the street from the regional office of the Commission on Audit (COA). The road is a well-used detour for vehicles due to the ongoing tunnel construction near the Plaza Independencia in the Cebu pier area.
Sison had stopped his car when vehicles ahead of him stopped to wait for the change of a traffic light.
Police said the murder weapon was likely an automatic pistol, said Supt. Labra II. Police recovered at least 14 empty shells, seven slugs, one deformed slug and a fragment from unidentified high-powered firearm.
When police arrived at the murder scene, they found Sison slumped in his car. Paramedics were immediately called. It was an Eruf ambulance that brought Sison to the hospital, where his family and anxious officials of Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City quickly gathered.
Richard Dino ?RD? Sison, the victim?s youngest son, confirmed that his father received a death threat by phone two months ago.
RD, who answered the phone call, said an unidentified male voice speaking in modulated tones, called their residence in March.
The caller warned him to ?Tell your father to watch over his children if he doesn't want to get hurt.? After that, RD said the family was extra careful in their movements but never thought his father would lose his life.
Gwen, the eldest daughter of Sison?s three children, said it was possible the murder was work-related and that she had received a lot of feedback about possible motives.
?Most probably one of his case,? Gwen said but stressed that the family would wait for the results of the police investigation.
Five surgeons worked to save Sison?s life.
?We did all we could. As doctors we tried to help him but his wounds were fatal,? said Dr. Wyben Briones.
Sison was declared dead at 1:10 pm from at least five five gunshot wounds in the head and neck.
The corridors outside the operating room of the hospital were filled with fellow lawyers, Lapu-Lapu city officials, relatives and friends who waited until past 2 p.m. when Sison?s remains were taken to the Cebu Rolling Hills funeral home in Mandaue City. /Jhunnex Napallacan, Nilda Gallo and Chito Aragon
