MANILA, Philippines — Another man has passed away following the violent Mendiola-Recto riots on September 21, forensic authorities confirmed.
Eric Saber, 35, died of a “perforated gunshot wound to the neck,” according to a death certificate issued by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun.
Fortun said Saber’s immediate cause of death was “probable pneumonia,” while the antecedent cause was a “spinal cord injury C6.” She told Philstar.com that no bullet was recovered from Saber’s body.
Saber was struck by a bullet during the clashes along Recto Avenue in Manila. It remains unclear where the shot came from, though human rights group Karapatan alleged he was hit during “violent dispersals” by police.
But Rep. Arnie Fuentebella (Camarines Sur, 4th District), budget sponsor for the Department of the Interior and Local Government, denied that police fired their weapons, echoing the Philippine National Police’s account.
“For the record, Madam Speaker, chineck po natin, wala pong nagpaputok sa aming mga SWAT during that incident,” Fuentebella said in Thursday’s plenary debates. (For the record, Madam Speaker, we checked, and none of our SWAT personnel discharged a firearm during that incident.)
The Department of Health earlier confirmed one man was dead on arrival from stab wounds during the riots.
Manila Police District spokesperson Police Major Philip Ines said 216 people were arrested following the unrest, which broke out near Mendiola and Recto and coincided with larger anti-corruption protests in Luneta and EDSA.
