DOLORES, Quezon: “He tried to show goodwill and pacify the police; his arms were up in the air; instead, he was brutally strafed by bullets,” a relative of Tirso “Jun” Lontok said Thursday in an emotional press conference at the family residence in Barangay Santa Lucia.

Lontok, an environmentalist, was one of the 13 killed in an alleged shootout with about 50 police and military men at a checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon. His body was the only one found outside a vehicle before the arrival of Scene Of the Crime Operatives or SOCO.

Ariel Lontok, nephew of the victim, cited a source who told the family that Jun went out of the second Montero sports utility vehicle because he knew Police Supt. Hansel Marantan who led the checkpoint.

“Huwag kayong magpapaputok [Don’t fire]!” the victim reportedly said when he alighted from the SUV with his arms raised.

Ariel said that despite his uncle’s raised arms and pleas, he was shot just the same. Ariel’s source said that Lontok tried to flee after getting shot but he could not outrun the bullets. His assailants continued to pepper him with bullets even when he was already slumped on a canal, as shown by his wounds on the back and feet.

“Halos madurog ang kanyang dalawang braso at bago maisuot ang barong sa kanyang bangkay ay makapal na benda ang kailangang irolyo sa kanyang braso [His two arms were almost shattered to pieces and before we could put a barong on his body, we had to wrap his arms with a thick bandage],” Ariel said.

Bella Lontok, sister of the victim, added that when his shoes were removed at the funeral parlor, his feet were almost severed from his legs.

The relatives also denied accusations that Lontok was involved in illegal gambling operations. Bella said that her brother’s house was small, his children were studying in a public school and he owned a dilapidated car.

“Is that one who is involved in illegal activities?” she asked.

Lontok’s wife, Marife, said that her husband had told her that he was helping Vic Siman, who was also killed, with some mining problems in Bicol Region. She said that he was an effective community organizer and had some connections in Bicol.

“Maybe this is why Vic Siman approached my husband for help,” Marife said.

The family, however, clarified that they have never met Siman. Siman was reportedly a jueteng operator from Calamba, Laguna, who wanted to extend his operations to Bicol.

In a statement that she read to the press while fighting back tears, Lontok’s eldest daughter, Bianca, condemned the police and Army men who were responsible for the death of “13 innocent individuals.”

She lashed out at the “legitimate checkpoint operation” as first asserted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) for leaving “countless wounds from hundreds of bullets that killed innocent civilians on board two vehicles in Atimonan.”

She said that authorities could not cite even a single crime committed by the victims to justify the “brutal” use of force amounting to a massacre. She also described as “a blatant lie” the claim of the regional intelligence group and the First Special Forces that they used force because the victims had ignored the checkpoint.

“Walang dahilan upang iwasan ng mga biktima ang kanilang checkpoint sapagkat anim sa labintatlong napatay ay mga aktibong PNP at AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] na may malinis na record. [There’s no reason for the victims to avoid the checkpoint because six of the 13 killed were active members of the PNP and the AFP with spotless records],” she said.

The Lontok family was not satisfied with the relief of Marantan and all the police officers involved in the operations. They want the Army officers to be relieved as well.

“We want justice for my father. And we are glad that President Benigno Aquino 3rd already gave directive to the National Bureau of Investigation to do a fair and comprehensive investigation of the Atimonan massacre,” Bianca said.

She stressed that their family had confidence only in the bureau and they would not believe in the results of any investigation by other agencies. She also expressed the family’s hope that the death of the 13 victims would not be forgotten and the unjustified killing of innocent people by uniformed men would no longer be repeated.