CEBU CITY, Philippines - On his way to pick up his children from school, a Cebu City assistant prosecutor was shot and wounded by two men on a motorbike.
Patrick Osorio, 37, was on board his Toyota Revo van, which had slowed down for heavy traffic, when the gunman fired twice at the vehicle at 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday.The ambush took place about 100 meters from the police station in Barangay (village) Mambaling, Cebu City. Osorio was hit twice in the right side of his body. On Tuesday night, he underwent surgery to remove one bullet still lodged in his body. He remained in critical condition at the Miller Memorial Sanitarium and Hospital, on Tres de Abril Street in Cebu City. Police investigators are looking into all angles, including the possibility that the ambush was work related. The victim’s brother-in-law Roland Rivera said the family did not know who could have wanted Osorio killed since he was a good man. The wife, Julia was not aware of any death threats received by the assistant prosecutor, he said. Most of the cases he handled involved family law, he added. Osorio is assigned at the Regional Trial Court Branch 24 , a family court presided by Judge Olegario Sarmiento. Lawyer Jesus Osorio Sr., father of the victim, said he did not know of any controversial case handled by his son to explain the attack. There was no mention of any problem at work when the family had a get-together during the New Year celebration, he said. Jesus Osorio said his son was taking his usual route to pick up his kids from school when the ambush happened. The assistant prosecutor would usually fetch his three children from school along the South Coastal Road before heading home to Deca Homes, Minglanilla town. The victim has four children aged 8, 7, 5 and 4. His wife Julia is about five months pregnant. Osorio was driving his Toyota Revo along Ma. Gochan Street near Natalio Bacalso Avenue when heavy traffic forced him to slow down, about 100 meters from the Mambaling police station. The pause gave an opportunity for gunmen to open fire. According to a witness, a red motorcycle boarded by two men went to the passenger side of the van. The backrider then pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and fired at Osorio twice. The motorcycle then sped toward Barangay Pardo. Although he was wounded, Osorio managed to get out of his vehicle and seek help, according to a trisikad driver. “Nigawas siya, hangyo og tabang abogado kuno siya, segi ingon tabang mo (He went out of the van and asked for help. He said he was a lawyer. He kept on saying ‘Please help him’),” said the witness. Some trisikad drivers attended to the wounded lawyer while others reported the incident to the nearby police station. About five minutes later, Mambaling policemen arrived and brought Osorio to the hospital on board a taxi. Senior Police Officer 4 Alex Dacua, homicide investigator, said Osorio had two gunshot wounds, one in the right thigh and another in the right elbow. Police found one empty shell of a caliber .45 pistol. Osorio underwent surgery for removal of the second slug. Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon said he could not say whether the attack had something to do with Osorio’s job as an assistant prosecutor. “If we can identify the perpetrator, then we will know if the shooting is related to his job or a personal matter,” Sellon said. Superintendent Paul Labra II said the Osorio family had no idea yet who would want to harm the assistant prosecutor. Labra, Cebu City police deputy director for operation, said they would check if the victim was handling any high-profile cases that could be a motive for the attack. | 
